Library  of 
The  University  of  North  Carolina 


cnl.LKCTION  OF 

xoirni  ('AR(H.iNi.\x.\ 


This  book  must  not 
be  token  from  the 
Library  building. 


Form  No.  471 


Wake  County:  Economic 
AND  Social 


THE  WAKE  COUNTY  CLUB 

UNIVERSITY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 

APRIL,  1918 


EDITORIAL  BOARD  ' 

G.  B.  Lay Editor-in-Chief  and  Business  Manager 

W.  H.  Stephenson Assistant  Business  Manager 

0.  R.  Cunningham  R.  C.  Maxwell 

T.  P.  Harrison,  Jr.  J.  R.  Pearson 


EDWARDS  &  BROUGHTON  PRINTING  CO. 

IlVLKIOH,   N.  C. 

1918 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Acknowledgments  5 

Foreword 6 

A  Short  History  of  Wake 7 

J.  R.  Pearson 

Ealeigh,  Our  Capital  City 11 

W.  H.  Stephenson 

I^atural  Resources,  Industries,  and  Opportunities 17 

O.  R.  Cunningham 

Wealth  and  Taxation  in  Wake  County 24 

R.  C.  Maxwell 

Farm  Conditions,  Farm  Practices,  and  the  Local  Market 
.  Problem    29 

T.  P.  Harrison,  Jr. 

Seven-year  Gains  in  Wake  County  Rural  Schools 42 

O.  R.  Cunningham 

Where  Wake  Leads  48 

G.  B.  Lay 

Our  Problems  and  Their  Solution 57 

G.  B.  Lay 


Acknowledgments 

To  issue  any  publication  requires  two  things :  the  elforts  and 
dollars  of  men.  The  former  we  have  found  in  a  group  of  col- 
lege students  at  the  University  of  iNorth  Carolina  from  Wake 
County — men  who  are  interested  in  Wake's  standing  among  the 
counties  of  the  State  and  who  are  eager  in  every  way  possible  to 
raise  this  standing  and  place  every  phase  of  Wake's  economic 
and  social  development  ahead  of  that  of  any  other  county  in  this 
State.  In  the  preparation  of  this  Bulletin  they  have  been  greatly 
assisted  by  the  general  direction  and  kind  assistance  of  Dr.  E.  C. 
Branson,  head  of  the  University  Department  of  Eural  Econom- 
ics; by  the  reading  of  the  final  manuscript  by  Mr.  K.  D.  W. 
Connor;  and  by  the  many  suggestions  and  assistance  given  by 
various  other  public-spirited  men  throughout  the  county. 

The  other  requirement  is  financial  backing.  In  this  we  are 
gTateful  to  these  public-spirited  men  who  by  their  liberal  support 
have  made  the  Wake  County  Bulletin  possible : 

Ealeigh  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Citizens  ISTational  Bank,  Raleigh. 

Commercial  ISTational  Bank,  Raleigh. 

Dillon  Supply  Co.,  Raleigh. 

Hudson-Belk  Co.,  Raleigh. 

Raleigh  Banking  and  Trust  Co. 

Hicks'  Drug  Stores,  Raleigh. 

Allen  Brothers  &  Fort,  Real  Estate,  Raleigh. 

Farmers  and  Merchants  Bank,  Apex. 

Dr.  John  B.  Wright,  Raleigh. 

Henry  E.  Litchford,  Richmond,  Va. 

Major  W.  A.  Graham,  Raleigh. 

Edwards  &  Broughton  Printing  Co.,  Raleigh. 


Foreword 

This  Bulletin,  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social,  issued  by 
the  Wake  County  students  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
is  the  third  oi  its  kind  to  be  issued  in  America ;  the  tirst 
(Sampson  County:  Economic  and  Social)  having  also  been 
issued  by  University  students  in  May,  1917.  It  is  a  social  and 
economic  studv  of  the  Wake  County  of  today,  which  is  the  basis 
of  the  Wake  County  of  tomorrow. 

Books  in  plenty  have  been  written  about  the  world  in  general, 
but  this  study  is  devoted  to  a  particular  part  of  the  world :  Wake 
County.  It  is  a  study  of  county  economics,  a  source-book  of 
information  which  has  long  been  in  process  of  collection  by  the 
Xorth  Carolina  Club,  and  which  has  been  assembled  and  inter- 
preted by  the  Wake  County  Club.  It  should  stimulate  a  county 
pride  and  an  interest  in  county  welfare. 

The  advantage  of  this  Bulletin  to  Wake  County  is  not  meas- 
urable solely  in  terms  of  its  contents.  It  represents  a  county 
consciousness  on  the  part  of  the  men  who  have  written  it.  It 
reveals  a  constructive  interest  in  the  welfare  of  their  home 
county.  The  process  of  preparing  it  has  given  them  an  invalu- 
able laboratory  training  in  county  conditions  and  problems 
which  has  fitted  them  for  constructive  citizenship  in  their  home 
county. 

This  work  is  an  expression  of  a  distinct  movement  beginning 
in  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  It  purposes  to  relate  edu- 
cation to  immediate,  practical  service.  It  is  significant  as  ex- 
pressing the  growing  interest  of  students  in  the  practical  prob- 
lems of  citizenship),  which  augurs  well  for  the  future.  The  in- 
terest manifested  in  it  by  the  business  men  of  Wake  County, 
who  have  made  possible  its  distribution,  is  expressive  of  a  new 
spirit  in  business  which  seeks  its  welfare  in  promoting  the  wel- 
fare of  those  it  serves.  ^^^^^^  ^^   ^.^^^^^^ 

President  J  The  North  Carolina  Club. 


A  Short  History  of  Wake 

J.  R.  Pearson,  Apex 

Wake  County  is  located  in  tlie  central  part  of  ITortli  Carolina, 
on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Piedmont  Plateau,  and  is  bounded  by 
Johnston,  Harnett,  Lee,  Chatham,  Durham,  Granville,  and 
Pranklin  counties.  Its  territory  affords  the  greatest  possible  agri- 
cultural advantages.  Only  Kobeson  County  has  a  larger  number 
of  rural  people,  and  no  other  section  of  the  State  produces  crops 
of  a  greater  variety  or  larger  total  value.  Wake's  average 
annual  temperature  is  60  degrees  and  its  rainfall  around  52 
inches  a  year.  Its  climate  is  free  from  the  sudden  extremes  of 
heat  and  cold  of  the  Mississippi  valley  States.  The  natural 
conditions  of  health  are  unsurpassed.  Her  soils  and  seasons  are 
suitable  to  cotton  and  tobacco,  the  grains,  hay  and  forage,  and  to 
profitable  livestock  farming.  There  are  no  better  country 
schools  in  this  or  any  other  State.  In  agricultural  opportunities, 
school  and  church  advantages  there  is  no  better  county  of  the 

State  to  live  in. 

Within  the  boundaries  of  Wake  are  the  State  Capitol,  various 
other  department  buildings,  the  Central  State  Hospital  for  the 
Insane,  the  State  Schools  for  the  Blind,  the  State  College  of 
Agriculture  and  Engineering,  Wake  Forest  College,  Peace  In- 
stitute, St.  Mary's  School,  and  Meredith  College,  the  City  High 
School,  four  farm-life  schools,  Shaw  University,  and  St.  Augus- 
tine. With  these  superior  advantages.  Wake  ought  to  be  at- 
tractive to  homeseekers  from  the  North  and  Middle  West. 

!N'ame  of  the  County 

Wake  preserves  the  maiden  name  of  the  wife  of  Tryon,  a 
royal  Governor  in  the  Colonial  period.  However,  some  author- 
ities claim  this  honor  for  Esther  Wake,  a  sister  of  Lady  Tryon. 


8  Wahe  County:  Economic  and  Social 

Foundation  of  Wake 

Wake  County  was  created  by  tbe  General  Assembly  of  1770, 
during  Governor  Tryon's  administration.  Tbe  act  of  erection 
may  be  found  in  the  existing  courthouse  records  under  tbe  date 
of  September  12,  1771,  in  Book  A,  pages  four,  five,  and  six.  In 
June  of  1771  Wake's  first  court  convened.  Tbe  Capital  City 
was  located  in  Wake  by  an  act  of  tbe  General  Assembly  of  1791, 
and  it  was  located  and  surveyed  by  nine  commissioners  in  1792. 
Its  name  preserves  the  memory  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  Michael 
Rogers,  maternal  great-gTandfatber  of  the  late  F.  J.  Haywood, 
was  Wake's  first  sheriff.  There  has  been  a  steady  increase  in 
tbe  population  of  the  county  since  1790.  The  census  at  that 
time  showed  10,182  inhabitants;  in  1910  there  were  63,229. 
The  increase  in  the  last  census  period  was  57  per  cent. 

Territorial  Changes 

Territorial  changes  in  Wake  since  its  establishment  have  been 
effected  only  twice.  In  1881  Oak  Grove  Township  lost  a  part 
of  its  area  in  the  creation  of  Durham  County.  In  1911  still 
another  portion  of  this  township  was  transferred  to  the  same 
county.  Since  that  time  the  remaining  portion  of  Oak  Grove 
has  been  combined  with  portions  of  Barton's  Creek  and  House's 
Creek  into  Leesville  Township.  With  these  two  exceptions,  no 
material  changes  have  been  effected  in  the  territory  of  Wake  in 
her  entire  history.  The  addition  of  this  new  township  made  a 
total  of  nineteen  townships  in  Wake,  as  follows :  Barton's  Creek, 
Buckhorn,  Cary,  Cedar  Fork,  Holly  Springs,  House's  Creek, 
Leesville,  Little  River,  Mark's  Creek,  Middle  Creek,  Neuse 
River,  I^ew  Light,  Panther  Branch,  Raleigh,  St.  Mary's,  St. 
Matthew's,  Swift  Creek,  Wake  Forest,  and  Wliite  Oak. 


A  Short  History  of  Wahe  9 

Wake  County  Dueing  the  Revolution 

During  this  period  the  General  Assembly  was  most  active.  It 
met  at  ISTew  Bern,  Hillsboro,  Halifax,  Smithfield,  and  in  1781 
it  met  in  Wake  County,  at  the  Lane  homestead.  The  Assembly 
sat  at  Tarboro  in  1787.  The  members  of  that  Assembly  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  fixing  a  definite  place  for  a  State  Capital. 
The  next  year  the  Assembly  met  in  Hillsboro  and  agreed  that 
the  Capital  of  the  State  should  be  situated  'Svithin  ten  miles  of 
the  plantation  whereon  Isaac  Hunter  now  resides,  in  the  county 
of  Wake." 

Her  Contribution  to  the  State  and  Nation 

Wake  County  has  supplied  more  than  her  quota  of  men  of 
State-wide  and  national  importance.  During  the  148  years  of 
her  history  she  has  furnished  one  President,  Andrew  Johnson, 
and  one  Secretary  of  the  I^avy,  Josephus  Daniels. 

Wake  has  contributed  to  the  State  three  Governors,  eleven 
Councillors  of  State,  five  Secretaries  of  State,  six  State  Treas- 
urers, one  Comptroller  and  two  Auditors,  two  Labor  Commis- 
sioners, four  Attorney-Generals,  four  Supreme  Court  Judges, 
three  of  whom  were  Chief  Justices.  Fifteen  Congressmen  were 
born  in  Wake  and  twelve  of  them  represented  the  Fourth  Dis- 
trict. 

Her  roll  of  honor  is  as  follows : 

President  of  the  United  States — Andrew  Johnson,  1865-'69 ; 
Secretary  of  the  Navy — Josephus  Daniels,  1913 — . 

Three  Governors— Charles  Manly,  1849-'51,  W.  W.  Holden, 
1865-'70,  and  Daniel  G.  Fowle,  1889-'91. 

Five  of  the  fifteen  Secretaries  of  State — Eufus  H.  Page, 
1859-'62,  John  P.  H.  Russ,  1862-'64,  Henry  J.  Memminger, 
1868-'71,  Wm.  L.  Saunders,  1879-'91,  and  Octavius  Coke,  1891- 
'95;  six  State  Treasurers — John  S.  Haywood,  1827,  Charles  L. 
Hinton,    1839-'42    and   1845-'52,   Kemp  P.   Battle,   1865-'68, 


10  Wake  t'ounlij:  Economic  and  Social 

Donald  W.  Bain,  1886-'92,  Benjamin  R.  Lacy,  1901  to  date; 
one  Comptroller — Wm.  J.  Clark,  1851-'55.  and  two  Auditors — 
Hal  W.  Ayer,  1898-1900,  and  Benjamin  R  Dixon,  Jr.,  1910; 
four  Attorney-Generals — Henry  Sea  well,  1803-'08,  James  F. 
Taylor,  1825-'28,  Sion  H.  Rogers,  18G3-'68,  Lewis  P.  Olds, 
1870-'71 ;  and  two  of  the  seven  Commissioners  of  Labor  and 
Printing— Wesley  N.  Jones,  1887-'89,  Benjamin  R.  Lacy,  1893- 
'97,  1899-1901. 

Four  Supremo  Court  Judges,  three  of  them  Chief  Justices — 
Wm.  N.  H.  Smith,  1879-'89,  Augustus  S.  Merrimon,  1885-'93, 
Walter  Clark,  1889  to  date,  and  Walter  A.  Montgomery,  1895- 
1905;  seven  Superior  Court  Judges — Henry  Seawell,  1811, 
George  E.  Badger,  1820-'25,  Romulus  M.  Saunders,  1852-'G7, 
Daniel  G.  Fowle,  1865-'67,  Wm.  R.  Cox,  1877-'79,  Walter 
Clark,  1885-'89,  and  Spier  Whitaker,  1889-'9L 

Fifteen  Congressmen  have  been  furnished  by  Wake,  and 
twelve  of  them  represented  the  Fourth  District — Josiah  Crudup, 
Daniel  L.  Barringer,  Romulus  M.  Saunders,  Wm,  H.  Haywood, 
George  E.  Badger,  Sion  R.  Rogers,  Thomas  L.  Clingman, 
L.  O'B.  Branch,  Thomas  Bragg,  John  T.  Deweese,  Wm.  R.  Cox, 
and  John  Nichols;  and  Andrew  Johnson,  Robt.  !N^.  Page,  Abra- 
ham Rencher,  representing  another  State  or  other  districts  in 
North  Carolina. 

The  foregoing  paragraphs  exhibit  in  brief  Wake's  contribu- 
tion of  noteworthy  men  to  the  State  and  the  Nation.  These  are 
the  men  preferred  by  public  choice  to  high  public  honors.  It  is 
impossible  in  this  short  sketch  to  single  out  and  to  name  in 
appreciation  each  one  of  the  hundreds  of  noble  men  and  women 
who  in  the  148  years  of  our  county  history  have  contributed  to 
the  development  of  business,  manufacture,  and  banking,  and  to 
the  educational  and  spiritual  well-being  of  Wake. 


Raleigh — Our  Capital  City 

W.  H.  Stephexson,  Raleigh 

Ealeigli,  almost  the  precise  geographical  center  of  the  State, 
was  founded  in  1792.  Situated  in  a  gently  rolling  region  on 
the  edge  of  the  Atlantic  coastal  plain,  with  an  altitude  of  365 
feet  and  a  mean  annual  temperature  of  60.3  degrees,  its  climatic 
conditions  are  ideal.  There  is  an  annual  sunshine  of  62  per 
cent  with  a  mean  precipitation  of  49.9  inches.  This  is  one 
reason  why  Kaleigh  has  always  appealed  to  people  seeking  an 
attractive  place  in  which  to  live  and  why  the  population  in  the 
last  few  years  has  grown  to  30,000  people,  suburbs  included. 
The  shape  of  Ealeigh  is  a  square  covering  an  area  of  four  square 
miles.  It  is  located  on  five  main  highways — the  Capital,  Ocean- 
to-Ocean,  Central,  Quebec-to-Miami,  Washington-to-Atlanta — 
and  is  the  objective  of  13  sand-clay  and  macadam  roads  leading 
to  other  towns.  There  are  65  miles  of  wide  streets  in  Ealeigh, 
17  of  which  are  asphalt,  and  95  per  cent  of  which  are  improved. 
Fourteen  miles  of  these  improved  streets  are  provided  with  mod- 
ern electric  street  railway.  Thus  the  streets  of  Ealeigh  con- 
tribute largely  to  its  municipal  beauty,  as  do  also  the  four  pub- 
lic parks,  which  include  Union  Square  on  which  the  State  Capi- 
tol stands,  and  the  two  public  playgrounds  fully  equipped  and 
under  the  supervision  of  instructors.  Ealeigh  has  a  unique 
asset  in  its  beautiful  and  numerous  shade  trees.  A  final  source 
of  beauty  is  found  in  the  many  elegant  homes  and  well-kept 
lawns  of  the  city. 

Educational  and  Publishing  Center 

It  is  as  an  educational  and  publishing  center  that  Ealeigh 
leads  the  other  towns  of  the  State.  There  are  12  public  schools  in 
the  city  and  its  suburbs,  employing  123  teachers  and  with  a 
school  property  value  of  $349,200.  The  public  schools  have  made 


12  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

considerable  increase  in  enrollment  and  general  standing  during 
the  last  six  years.  In  the  high  school,  however,  there  is  still  room 
for  improvement  in  curriculum  and  participation  in  inter-high 
school  activities.  In  addition  to  these,  there  are  four  private 
schools  in  Raleigh  offering  varied  fields  of  study.  Here  are  also 
located  St.  Mary's  School,  the  largest  Episcopal  boarding  school 
for  girls  in  the  United  States,  Meredith  College  (Baptist),  and 
Peace  Institute  (Presbyterian),  all  high-grade  institutions  of 
learning  for  young  women.  The  North  Carolina  State  College 
of  Agriculture  and  Engineering  is  situated  in  the  suburbs  west 
of  the  city,  and  during  191G-'17  furnished  instruction  to  810 
students,  including  short  course,  but  not  including  531  summer 
school  attendants.  Shaw  University  (Baptist)  and  St.  Augus- 
tine's School  (Episcopal)  are  co-educational  institutions  for 
negroes,  and  are  the  largest  of  their  respective  denominations, 
with  a  combined  enrollment  of  over  1,000.  King's  Business 
College,  the  biggest  school  of  its  kind  in  both  Carolinas,  with 
over  300  students,  and  the  Page  School  of  Pharmacy  are  also 
located  in  Raleigh.  Thus  the  county-seat  is  doing  her  full  share 
in  the  battle  North  Carolina  is  waging  for  education  against 
illiteracy  and  ignorance. 

Within  Raleigh's  limits  are  published  more  magazines  and 
newspapers  than  in  any  other  towoi  in  the  State.  All  told,  there 
are  27  publications  sent  out  from  Raleigh  to  the  people  of  North 
Carolina  and  other  States.  Their  combined  circulation  in  1917 
w^as  332,000.  Two  of  these  are  dailies,  the  News  and  Observer, 
a  morning  paper,  and  the  Raleigh  Times,  an  afternoon  journal. 
The  Progressive  Farmer,  edited  by  Dr.  Clarence  Poe,  is  the 
foremost  agricultural  journal  in  the  South  and  has  over  200,000 
subscribers.  The  State  Journal,  edited  by  Mr.  W.  T.  Bost,  is  a 
publication  of  growing  importance  in  the  field  of  political 
science.  There  are  a  number  of  religious  journals  published  in 
Raleigh,  the  Biblical  Recorder  and  the  Christian  Advocate 
leading;  and  a  labor  paper.  The  Union  Herald. 


Raleigh — Our  Capital  City  13 

Kaleigh — The  Convention  City  of  the  State 

It  is  also  as  a  convention  city  tliat  Kaleigh  claims  first  rank 
among  the  leading  cities  of  the  State.  There  are  five  hotels, 
which  annually  accommodate  167,000  visitors.  The  municipally 
owned  auditorium  has  a  capacity  of  5,000  people,  and  is  one  of 
the  finest  in  the  South.  The  Raleigh  Country  Club,  which 
possesses  an  excellent  eighteen-hole  golf  course  and  six  tennis 
courts,  extends  its  privileges  to  guests  of  Raleigh  hotels. 

Civic  Peogress 

The  civic  progress  of  Raleigh  has  been  remarkable  under  the 
commission  form  of  government.  The  waterworks  system  is 
municipally  owned  and  keeps  in  reserve  a  three-months  supply. 
The  fire  department,  employing  28  firemen,  is  the  only  com- 
pletely motorized  and  fully  paid  fire  department  in  the  State. 
The  museum  is  recognized  to  be  the  finest  State  museum  in  the 
United  States,  *^hile  the  Hall  of  History  is  one  of  the  finest  in 
the  country.  Raleigh  has  three  public  libraries  with  over  90,- 
000  volumes.  There  are  two  telephone  systems  in  the  city  with 
3,865  city  and  rural  subscribers';  which  means  a  gain  in  the 
number  of  phones  in  the  last  five  years  of  65  per  cent.  The 
hydro-electric  power,  available  for  lighting  and  street  railway 
purposes,  comes  from  three  sources,  under  contract  with  the 
Carolina  Power  and  Light  Company.  Rex  and  Mary  Elizabeth 
hospitals  for  the  whites  and  St.  Agues  for  the  negroes  are  free 
public  institutions  with  excellent  facilities  and  under  high-grade 
management.  In  the  city  of  Raleigh  there  are  2,257  employees, 
drawing  a  combined  annual  salary  of  $1,161,000.  Raleigh  is 
one  of  the  16  cities  of  the  United  States  having  a  municipal 
abattoir.     An  incinerator  has  been  recently  installed. 


14  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

Industrial  Raleigh 

Industrially  Raleigh  has  made  large  relative  increases,  but 
has  not  equalled  her  record  in  education  and  civic  growth.  In 
six  years  the  postoffice  receipts  have  increased  from  $112,337  to 
$204,075,  a  gain  of  almost  00  per  cent.  During  this  same 
period  47  wholesale  and  jobbing  houses  have  made  the  remark- 
able increase  in  wholesale  trade  of  1G5  per  cent.  The  gain  in 
the  assessment  of  real  and  personal  property  in  five  years  has 
amounted  to  36  per  cent,  while  the  total  resources  of  the  seven 
Raleigh  banks  is  now  $14,000,000,  or  an  increase  of  nearly  60 
per  cent  in  the  last  eight  years.  This  industrial  growth  is 
encouraging,  but  still  Raleigh  has  not  found  her  proper  indus- 
trial status  among  the  other  cities  in  the  State,  which,  in  the 
finality,  depends  on  equitable  freight  rates,  a  goal  that  is  being 
strenuously  worked  for  at  present  by  the  business  men  of 
Raleigh. 

Manufacturixg  Growth  in  Raleigh 

The  number  of  manufacturing  establishments,  according  to 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  has  grown  from  49  in  1907  to  75  in 
1917,  with  annual  products  valued  at  $5,000,000.  But  when 
compared  with  other  leading  cities  in  the  State,  Raleigh  ranked 
seventh  in  the  number  of  establishments  in  1914,  with  Charlotte 
leading,  and  sixth  in  the  capital  invested,  with  Winston  leading. 
According  to  the  Federal  Census  of  Industries,  the  raw  materials 
consumed  in  manufacture  in  Raleigh  during  the  last  ten  years 
have  increased  from  $512,000  to  $1,020,000,  and  in  value  of 
output  from  $1,087,000  to  $2,916,000.  Here,  again,  there  are 
seven  towns  in  the  State  ahead  of  Raleigh,  and  Winston  is 
again  in  the  lead.  This  means  that  Raleigh  has  been  timid  in 
undertaking  and  prosecuting  manufacturing  enterprises. 


Ealeigli — Our  Capital  City  15 

A  Tradition  of  the  Past 

She  has  been  hampered  by  a  tradition  of  "safety-first"  deal- 
ing in  her  industrial  and  manufacturing  enterprises,  which  has 
prevented  the  giant  strides  that  more  industrially  aggressive 
towns  in  the  State  have  been  making.  But  evidences  of  a  re- 
awakening are  found  in  the  new  manufacturing  concerns  that 
have  been  recently  organized  in  Ealeigh,  such  as  the  washboard 
factory,  the  new  hosiery  mill,  the  packing  plant,  the  airplane 
factory,  foundry,  machine  shop  and  implement  works,  and  other 
various  mills  of  many  kinds.  What  Kaleigh  needs  is  the  same 
industrial  courage  that  has  been  the  making  of  Durham,  Char- 
lotte, and  Winston.  And  in  this  rebirth  of  manufacture  and 
rapid  growth  in  wholesale  trade  we  see  again  indications  that 
she  will  take  her  proper  place  in  trade  and  manufacture. 

Her  business  men  are  improving  their  old  standing,  but  they 
are  not  yet  venturing  boldly  enough  into  new  fields  of  business. 
What  Raleigh  needs  is  to  put  aside  the  idea  that  her  preemi- 
nence springs  from  the  fact  that  she  is  the  State  Capital  or  from 
her  educational  leadership.  She  must  take  advantage  of  her 
many  fine  opportunities  and  make  the  best  of  them.  And  when 
this  is  done,  her  place  in  the  industrial  and  commercial  world 
will  be  as  safely  assured  as  her  leadership  in  education,  publi- 
cation, and  banking. 

The  Present  Challenge 

But  the  response  to  the  challenges  of  a  crisis  is  always  the  acid 
test  of  a  city.  Ealeigh  has  oversubscribed  her  quota  for  the 
Eed  Cross  support,  for  Liberty  Loan  Bonds,  and  has  led  the 
State  in  the  number  of  books  given  to  the  soldiers.  This  is 
largely  due  to  the  valuable  work  that  her  Woman's  Club  and  Red 
Cross  are  doing.  An  enormous  quantity  of  surgical  dressings, 
knitted  goods,  and  the  like  has  been  sent  to  France.  The  women 
of  the  county  have  been  stirred  to  conserve  food  and  to  plant  gar- 


16  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

dens,  can  fruit  and  vegetables,  and  do  everything  in  their  power 
to  help  win  the  war.  lialeigh  has  been  very  fortunate  in  her 
women  workers.  They  have  done  marvels.  The  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  Kotary  Club,  and  other  organizations  have  also  aided 
materially  in  this  work,  and  have  backed  the  Government  in 
every  way,  whether  in  War  Savings  Stamps  or  Liberty  Loans  or 
in  food  production  and  conservation.  Raleigh  has  done  well, 
and,  in  so  doing,  has  won  recognition  throughout  the  Nation. 
She  is  awake  to  the  critical  situation  that  exists  in  the  world 
today.  Much  can  be  expected  of  her  in  the  near  future ;  for  she 
has  awakened  to  her  full  share  of  the  task,  and  it  can  be  said 
with  truth  and  certainty  that  she  will  perform  all  her  duties 
well.  She  is  on  the  royal  road  to  a  greater  success  than  ever 
before. 

(All  of  the  important  facts  were  obtained,  January  1,  1918, 
from  the  Raleigh  Chamber  of  Commerce.) 


Natural  Resources,  Industries,  and 
Opportunities 

OusBY  R.  Cunningham,  Apex 

Geography 

Wake  County  is  one  of  the  largest  in  tlie  State,  its  approxi- 
mate area  being  540,800  acres.  Originally  the  county  was 
larger  than  it  is  at  present,  but  a  few  years  ago  practically  an 
entire  township  was  taken  off  and  added  to  Durham,  our  neigh- 
boring county.  Wake  lies  on  the  border  of  the  Piedmont  region, 
and  naturally  it  has  a  rolling,  uneven  surface,  which  is  charac- 
teristic of  the  Piedmont  section. 

Keuse  Kiver,  which  is  not  very  large  in  Wake  County,  is  our 
principal  river.  In  addition,  there  are  several  creeks  that  are 
utilized  to  a  small  extent  for  grist  and  roller  mills.  The  types 
of  soil  in  the  northern  and  western  portions  of  the  county  are 
clay  and  clayey  loam.  The  climate  of  the  county  is  rather 
mild,  the  spring  and  fall  months  being  suitable  for  outdoor  work. 
Because  of  its  high  elevation,  good  drainage,  and  good  water. 
Wake  has  a  very  healthful  climate. 

A  large  portion  of  the  county  is  divided  into  farms,  mostly 
small  ones.  According  to  the  geography  of  the  county,  our  chief 
agricultural  products  are  cotton  and  tobacco.  Minor  crops  are 
the  grains,  hay,  and  forage.  As  another  chapter  treats  the  agri- 
cultural resources,  this  discussion  will  pass  on  to  our  timber 

resources. 

Timber  Eesources 

It  has  been  estimated  that  90  per  cent  of  our  county  has  at 

one  time  been  cleared,  but  since  the  Civil  War  about  40  per  cent 

has  reverted  to  forests.     In  past  years  hardwoods  and  pine  types 

were  on  a  par,  but  in  1915  about  14  per  cent  of  the  original 

2 


18  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

forest  growth  was  woodland.  At  the  same  time  86  per  cent  of 
the  forests  of  the  county  was  second-growth  pine. 

Wake  has  200,000  acres  of  timber  land,  which  is  50  per  cent 
of  the  total  area  of  the  county.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are 
315,000,000  board  feet  of  timber  in  Wake,  93  per  cent  of  which 
is  second-growth  pine,  2  per  cent  oak,  3  per  cent  original  long- 
leaf  pine,  and  the  remainder  various  original  growths.  In  the 
year  1914,  110  sawmills  cut  75,000,000  board  feet  of  timber. 
They  cut  upon  an  average  700,000  feet  each,  but  some  of  them 
cut  a  million  or  more  feet  each  during  the  year.  Ninety-two 
per  cent  of  the  lumber  cut  was  second-growth  pine,  4  per  cent 
old  growth  long-leaf  pine,  and  2  per  cent  oak.  The  stumpage 
of  second-growth  pine  timber  varies  in  value  from  $2  to  $4  per 
thousand  feet,  while  old  growth  long-  and  short-leaf  pine  is  worth 
from  $1  to  $2  more  per  thousand  feet. 

I  have  already  pointed  out  that  about  14  per  cent  of  our  wood- 
land is  original  forest  growth.  Of  long-leaf  pine  about  9,000,- 
000  feet  remain,  but  it  has  all  been  boxed  and  is  being  cut  very 
fast.  In  addition,  there  are  8,000,000  feet  of  second-growth 
pine  in  the  county  giving  an  average  of  1,000  feet  per  acre. 

In  addition  to  the  sawmills,  there  are  20  planing  mills,  hand- 
ling from  a  quarter  million  to  ten  million  feet  of  timber  a  year. 
The  transportation  facilities  are  comparatively  good,  there  being 
several  railroads  running  through  the  county,  and  the  highways 
are  in  good  condition  most  of  the  time. 

After  taking  into  consideration  the  status  of  our  forest  re- 
sources, we  see  that  our  supply  of  timber  is  being  gradually 
exhausted.  Here  is  the  problem  that  confronts  us  today: 
How  are  we  to  conserve  our  timber,  or  what  means  must  we  take 
to  insure  sufficient  reproduction?  We  must  first  take  precau- 
tion in  seeing  that  the  seed  trees  are  left  when  timber  is  cut. 
Second,  it  is  essential  that  our  forests  be  protected  from  being 
burned  through  carelessness.  If  the  people  of  our  county,  espe- 
cially the  people  of  the  rural  districts,  will  consider  the  impor- 


Resources,  Industries,  Opportunities  19 

tance  of  preserving  seed  trees,  and  especially  protecting  our 
forests  from  fires,  they  will  help  towards  solving  a  great  problem 
that  becomes  more  complex  each  year. 

Inbustries 

Wake  County  has  many  industries,  but  not  as  many  as  it 
should  have.  These  industries  are  classed  in  this  discussion 
under  three  main  heads :  cotton  mills,  knitting  mills,  and  other 
miscellaneous  enterprises. 

COTTON   MILLS 

We  have  six  cotton  mills  in  Wake :  one  at  N^euse,  one  at  Wake 
Forest,  one  at  Wendell,  and  three  in  Raleigh.  In  these  six  mills 
there  are  63,258  spindles,  1,263  looms,  217  cards;  the  horse- 
power is  developed  by  steam,  electricity,  and  water  to  the  amount 
of  2,800.  The  raw  material  in  1916  was  7,913,310  pounds  of 
cotton,  and  the  total  value  of  the  output  was  $1,837,150.  The 
total  number  of  persons  employed  was  1,010  ;  males  617,  females 
338,  and  children  98.  The  highest  average  daily  wage  of  the 
men  was  $3.58,  the  lowest  $1.04;  that  for  women  was  corre- 
spondingly $1.92  and  $.95.  The  State  averages  were  $3.05,  the 
highest  for  men,  and  $.97  the  lowest;  $1.5-4  the  highest  for 
women  and  $.85  the  lowest.  The  estimated  number  of  depend- 
ents on  the  employees  of  these  mills  was  2,485.  The  number 
of  days  that  the  mills  were  in  operation  was  308.5  days  in  the 
year.  It  is  evident  from  the  life  that  the  operatives  and  em- 
ployees lead  that  they  are  fairly  intelligent.  For  instance,  the 
percentage  of  operatives  that  can  both  read  and  write  is  92.44, 
while  the  State  average  is  only  89  per  cent.  The  average  num- 
ber of  hours  constituting  a  day's  work  is  10.3,  and  the  average 
for  the  one  mill  that  is  in  operation  both  day  and  night  is  10.5 
hours.  The  number  of  hours  work  for  the  week  is  60,  and  the 
operatives  are  paid  weekly. 


20  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

KNITTING  MILLS 

There  are  five  knitting  mills  in  Wake :  one  each  at  Morrisville, 
Wendell,  and  Zcbulou,  and  two  in  Raleigh.  The  capital  stock 
of  these  mills  is  valued  at  $93,675 ;  they  use  443,992  pounds 
of  raw  material  to  produce  goods  with  an  estimated  value  of 
$761,596  a  year.  The  number  of  knitting  machines  reported  is 
343,  sewing  machines  96,  horsepower  74,  men  employed  85, 
women  employed  161.  The  highest  average  daily  wage  paid 
men  was  $2.40  a  day,  the  lowest  $1 ;  the  highest  wage  paid 
women  was  $1.89  and  the  lowest  $.80.  Of  those  employed  in 
these  mills,  98.17  per  cent  can  both  read  and  write.  The  mills 
are  in  operation  308  days  in  the  year,  and  the  livelihood  of  about 
750  people  depends  on  those  employed  in  them. 

Wake  County  should  have  more  than  five  knitting  mills;  it 
should  share  in  supplying  South  America  and  other  countries 
with  knitting  mill  products,  which  are  in  great  demand.  It  is 
true  that  the  capital  stock  of  the  knitting  mills  in  the  State  has 
almost  doubled  since  1906,  but  the  South  is  still  behind  the 
North  in  number  and  variety  of  industries. 

MISCELLANEOUS  INDUSTRIES 

The  total  number  of  miscellaneous  industries  in  our  county 
in  1916  was  55.  The  total  capital  of  these  enterprises  was 
$891,820;  the  combined  value  of  the  plants  $840,650.  Their 
payroll  was  $557,690,  and  the  total  output  of  goods  estimated 
at  $2,633,795.  The  total  number  of  horsepower  used  \vas 
2,590;  number  of  men  employed  1,090,  women  90,  and  children 
3  (persons  under  16  years  of  age).  Ten  hours  constitute  the 
average  day's  work  in  these  industries.  The  means  by  which 
these  miscellaneous  enterprises  are  operated  are  as  follows:  26 
by  steam,  16  by  electricity,  1  by  steam  and  gasoline,  2  by  steam 
and  electricity,  3  by  hand  power,  2  by  gasoline,  1  by  gas  and 
electricity,  1  by  gas  engine,  and  3  unreported. 


Resources,  Industries,  Opportunities  21 

Of  the  people  employed  in  these  mills,  92  per  cent  can  both 
read  and  write.  The  highest  average  daily  wage  paid  the  men 
was  $3.09,  the  lowest  $1.12;  to  women  the  highest  was  $1.79, 
and  the  lowest  $.91. 

In  Wake,  as  elsewhere  in  ISTorth  Carolina,  there  is  a  large  field 
for  industries  of  every  sort.  They  have  been  held  back  in  the 
past  because  of  the  scarcity  of  capital  and  the  timidity  of  our 
men  of  means.  But  the  people  of  Wake  and  the  State  are  be- 
ginning to  realize,  though  very  slowly,  the  opportunities  that 
confront  them  in  the  field  of  miscellaneous  industrial  enterprises. 

Publications 

There  are  established  in  Wake  33  newspapers  and  periodicals, 
with  a  circulation  of  340,358.  The  total  capital  stock  invested 
in  these  publications  was  $149,200;  the  estimated  value  of  the 
plants  is  $68,000;  their  payroll  amounts  to  $116,690  a  year. 
The  number  of  horsepower  used  is  83 ;  the  number  of  persons 
employed  84;  the  average  work  day  is  8.43  hours,  or  50.66 
hours  per  week ;  the  average  highest  wage  is  $3.20,  the  lowest  $1. 
Ealeigh  is  a  well  developed  publishing  center,  and  in  this  par- 
ticular it  ranks  well  up  with  other  cities  that  are  many  times 
larger.  The  best  equipped  single  printing  establishment  in  the 
entire  South  is  that  of  the  Edwards  &  Broughton  Printing 
Company. 

Facts  About  Manufacturing 

According  to  the  1914  census  of  manufactures,  Ealeigh  shows 
the  following  five-year  increases:  total  wages  paid  34.1  per  cent, 
new  materials  used  27  per  cent,  total  value  of  products  22.7 
per  cent,  total  salaries  and  wages  29  per  cent,  value  added  by 
manufacture  17.8  per  cent,  primary  horsepower  employed  4.1 
per  cent,  number  of  wage-earners  2.7  per  cent.  The  census  also 
shows  a  five-year  decrease  in  the  total  number  of  salaried  em- 
ployees and  in  capital  invested. 


22  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

The  1914  Federal  Census  of  Industries  summarizes  manu- 
factures in  nine  North  Carolina  cities :  Xew  Bern,  High  Point, 
Asheville,  Wilmington,  Greensboro,  Charlotte,  Winston-Salem, 
Ealeigh,  and  Durham.  In  the  amount  of  capital  invested  Ra- 
leigh ranked  ninth,  in  value  of  total  output  eighth,  in  the  number 
of  establishments  seventh,  and  in  the  annual  payroll  sixth. 
These  figures  justify  me  in  saying  that  Raleigh  is  not  living  up 
to  her  opportunities  and  possibilities  as  a  manufacturing  com- 
munity. 

Opportunities 

Wake  can  rightly  be  called  the  county  of  opportunities.  Tliese 
opportunities  are  many,  and  doubtless  some  of  them  have  been 
pointed  out  in  other  chapters,  but  they  cannot  be  emphasized  too 
much. 

In  agriculture  a  great  chance  is  open  to  the  farmers  to  make 
their  farms  more  productive  each  year  by  the  use  of  proper 
methods  of  farming.  We  need  more  bread-aud-meat  farming 
and  more  livestock.  Our  farmers  must  realize  that  many  of 
their  ideas  and  much  of  their  equipment  are  obsolete.  This  is 
an  age  that  requires  brain  work  as  well  as  manual  labor  to  make 
our  farms  more  productive.  On  the  Farmers'  Union  and  the 
club  work  of  the  boys  and  girls  mainly  rest  our  hopes  and 
expectations  of  arousing  the  people  of  the  rural  districts  to  the 
great  opportunities  that  are  before  them  today. 

As  has  been  pointed  out  before,  there  is  need  of  more  mills, 
foundries,  and  factories  in  the  county.  Why  should  Wake  not 
have  more  cotton  mills,  knitting  mills,  and  other  enterprises? 
We  have  the  capital  and  the  labor ;  we  need  the  spirit  of  enter- 
prise. There  is  a  great  need  for  a  packing  plant  in  the  county ; 
in  fact,  the  movement  to  establish  such  a  plant  is  already  under 
way.  It  is  true  that  our  industrial  development  for  the  past 
several  years  has  been  creditable ;  but  still  our  industrial  status 
is  not  what  it  might  be.     The  fact  that  a  large  number  of  people 


Resources,  Industries,  Opportunities  23 

in  the  county  possessing  sufficient  capital  to  finance  industries 
have  been  afraid  to  risk  their  money  accounts  for  the  fact  that 
Wake  lags  behind  in  industrial  development.  This  is  not  only 
true  of  Wake  County,  but  also  of  most  counties  throughout  the 
State. 

We  have  valuable  resources  in  Wake  County ;  we  desire  to  see 
our  county  forge  ahead  and  prosper,  yet  we  have  numerous  op- 
portunities before  us  unchallenged.  Who  will  take  advantage 
of  them  ?  What  are  the  home  people  of  our  county  waiting  for  ? 
If  we  do  not  take  advantage  of  our  opportunities  and  strive  to 
develop  the  resources  of  our  county,  how  can  we  expect  Wake 
to  keep  pace  with  the  development  of  the  State  and  the  Nation  ? 
The  industrial  South  is  developing  in  leaps  and  bounds,  and  it 
is  our  duty  to  keep  Wake  fully  abreast  of  the  most  enterprising 
communities.  We  must  bend  our  efforts  toward  making  it  in 
all  particulars  the  best  developed  county,  not  only  in  North 
Carolina,  but  the  South.  What  we  need,  in  a  word,  is  more  ini- 
tiative. 


Wealth  and  Taxation  in  Wake  County 

Raymond  C.  Maxwell,  Raleigh 
Property  Wealth  and  Increase 

In  1913  the  taxable  property  of  Wake  amounted  to  $27,211,- 
050.  Only  two  counties  had  a  larger  total  of  properties  on  the 
tax  list.  It  still  holds  this  rank,  but  in  191G  our  taxables  had 
increased  to  $31,048,704:.  Here  is  an  increase  of  $4,443,054 
in  three  years,  or  a  gain  of  one  and  a  half  million  dollars  for  each 
year.  Only  two  other  counties  in  the  State  have  more  property 
than  Wake  on  the  tax  books — Mecklenburg  with  $36,091,920 
and  Guilford  with  $33,029,469. 

Our  increase  in  taxable  property  from  1903  to  1913  was  64 
per  cent,  or  a  little  less  than  that  of  the  State  at  large,  which 
was  81  per  cent.  The  increase  in  taxable  properties  listed  by 
negroes  was  97  per  cent;  the  increase  in  taxables  o\\Tied  by 
whites  was  31  per  cent.  These  figures  are  not  unusual  where 
negroes  are  thinly  scattered  among  white  majorities.  In  Wake, 
as  elsewhere,  the  property  of  the  negroes  is  relatively  small.  It 
was  $1,739,000  in  1916,  and  his  taxes  amounted  to  only  one 
dollar  of  every  twelve  dollars  paid  into  the  county  treasury. 

County  Wealth,  Total  and  Per  Capita 

Although  Wake  is  not  thought  of  as  a  strictly  agricultural 
county,  still  in  1910  it  ranked  fourth  in  the  State  in  total  farm 
wealth,  the  census  total  being  $11,982,984.  This  is  not  bad, 
considering  that  Wake  is  sixth  in  size  with  only  one-third  of  its 
half  million  acres  of  land  under  cultivation.  But  Wake  fell 
behind  the  average  for  the  State  in  the  increase  of  farm  values 
during  the  last  census  period.  The  ratio  of  gain  being  118  per 
cent  and  130  per  cent  respectively.     Fifty-three  counties  made  a 


Wealth  and  Taxation  25 

better  showing.  This  fact  grows  out  of  our  farm  tenancy  sys- 
tem. Our  excellent  rural  schools  alone  saved  our  county  prop- 
erties from  disaster. 

The  same  tenancy  system  explains  our  small  per  capita  wealth 
in  farm  properties — lands,  buildings,  farm  animals,  tools  and 
utensils.  In  1910  it  was  only  $272,  against  $322  for  the  State, 
$560  for  Alleghany,  $830  in  Oklahoma,  and  $994  in  the  United 
States.  Forty-nine  counties  made  a  better  showing  in  this  par- 
ticular. It  wounds  our  pride  to  think  that  the  average  farmer 
of  the  United  States  is  worth  three  times  more  than  the  average 
farmer  in  Wake.  Iowa  has  reached  the  high-water  mark  in 
$3,386  as  an  average  for  a  State. 

!Not  only  is  the  per  capita  county  wealth  in  farm  properties 
small,  but  so,  also,  is  our  per  capita  taxable  wealth  in  all  prop- 
erties. In  1910  it  was  only  $136  for  the  whites  and  $11  for  the 
negroes.  It  is  evident  that  improvement  can  be  made  in  farm 
wealth  and  in  all  other  properties  in  Wake.  The  average  farmer 
in  Iowa  is  worth  more  than  nine  times  the  average  farmer  in 
iNTorth  Carolina,  and  the  average  taxpayer  in  general  nearly 
nine  times  the  average  taxpayer  in  Wake.  When  Wake  raises 
cotton  and  tobacco  on  a  home-made  bread-and-meat  basis  we  shall 
be  ten  times  richer  than  the  Iowa  people  in  less  than  any  ten 
years. 

Faem  Tenancy  and  Faem  Mortgages 

In  1910,  54  per  cent  of  our  farms  were  cultivated  by  tenants, 
and  nearly  a  fifth  of  the  farms  cultivated  by  white  owners  were 
mortgaged.  Seventy-two  counties  made  a  better  showing  in 
farm  o^vnership  and  55  in  freedom  from  mortgage  debts  by 
white  farm  owners.  It  requires  a  good  deal  of  optimism  to 
expect  five-sixths  of  our  farmers  to  own  the  farms  they  cultivate ; 
nevertheless  this  is  the  ratio  of  farm  ownership  in  seven  of 
our  counties,  among  them  Alleghany,  the  richest  county  in  per 
capita  farm  wealth  in  the  State.     The  simple  truth  is  that  we 


26  Wahe  County:  Economic  and  Social 

need  more  home-owning  farmers  in  Wake  and  fewer  tenants. 
Ownership  farming,  not  tenancy  farming,  is  the  way  up  and  out 
in  Wake,  for  the  farmer,  the  community,  and  the  county.  It 
is  a  sign  of  achievement.  The  farmer  does  not  get  very  far 
continually  using  something  that  belongs  to  somebody  else. 
The  tenant  is  a  valuable  asset  to  the  community  if  he  has  the 
industry,  thrift,  and  enterprise  to  rise  out  of  tenancy  to  owner- 
ship, but  if  he  is  content  to  dig  a  bare  living  out  of  rented  soil, 
and  spend  the  net  profits  in  reckless  living,  instead  of  saving 
the  surplus  money  to  go  back  into  land  of  his  own,  then  he  be- 
comes a  liability  instead  of  a  community  asset.  The  tendency 
in  Wake  should  be  in  the  direction  of  increasing  farm  ownership 
and  decreasing  tenancy. 

Mortgage  Debt 

^lortgage  debt  on  farm  properties  is  not  in  itself  bad,  pro- 
vided it  represents  money  borrowed  for  more  land,  better  farm 
buildings,  better  livestock,  and  better  labor-saving  machinery. 
The  richest  farm  State  in  the  Union  carries  the  heaviest  mort- 
gage debt  on  farm  properties,  but  the  mortgage  debt  represents 
expansion  and  development,  not  bread  and  meat,  hay,  forage,  and 
fertilizers  during  the  chopping  season.  This  is  the  kind  of  debt 
that  cripples  the  tobacco  belt. 

In  Wake  55  per  cent  of  every  hundred  white  farmers  own 
the  farms  they  cultivate,  and  19  per  cent — or  nearly  a  fifth  of 
them — in  1910  were  weighed  down  by  mortgage  debt;  only  27 
of  every  100  negro  farmers  were  farm  owners,  and  nearly  a 
third,  or  32  per  cent,  of  them  were  hobbled  by  mortgages  on  their 
land.  Wake  County  ranks  fifty-sixth  in  white  farm  mortgage 
indebtedness  and  thirtieth  in  negro  farm  mortgage  debt.  Nine- 
teen per  cent  of  the  white  farms  in  this  county  are  mortgaged, 
and  32  per  cent  of  the  negro  farms.  The  State  average  for  the 
w^hite  farm  owners  is  17  per  cent  and  for  the  negro  o^vners  26 
per  cent.  It  thus  appears  that  Wake  again  falls  below  the  State 
average. 


Wealth  and  Taxation  27 

Bank  Wealth  and  Eesoukces 

AVake  County  has  several  of  the  strongest  banks  in  the  State, 
and  the  total  bank  resources  in  1915  were  more  than  ten  million 
dollars.  It  was  fifth  in  per  capita  bank  resources  in  1915,  the 
average  per  inhabitant  being  $153.  This  far  exceeds  the  State 
average,  which  was  only  $62. 

In  per  capita  bank  capital  in  1915  Wake  stood  high  above  the 
State  average.  Only  five  counties  made  a  better  showing.  The 
average  for  Wake  was  $15,  for  the  State  it  was  $8.50,  and  for 
the  United  States  $26.50. 

In  per  capita  bank  loans  and  discounts  Wake  stood  fifth  in 
1915,  our  average  being  $99.30,  while  the  State  average  was 
only  $45.  The  total  bank  loans  and  discounts  in  that  year 
amounted  to  $6,758,342. 

FACTS  ABOUT  WEALTH  AND  TAXATION  IN  WAKE 

4th  in  total  farm  wealth,  1910  Census %    11,982,984.00 

54th  in  wealth  increase,  1900-1910,  per  cent 118 

State  increase,  130  per  cent. 
20th  in  increase  in  value  of  domestic  animals,  1900-1910, 

per  cent   132 

State  increase,  109  per  cent;  Robeson  County,  208 
per  cent. 

3d  in  total  taxable  property  in  1913 $    27,211,050.00 

Increase  in  taxable  property,  1903-1913,  was  64  per 
cent.  State  increase,  81  per  cent — whites,  31  per 
cent;  negroes,  97  per  cent.  The  total  taxable 
property  in  Wake  County  in  1916  was  $31,648,704. 

50th  in  per  capita  country  wealth 272 

Alleghany,  $560;  State,  $322;  United  States,  $994; 

Iowa,  $3,386. 
Per  capita  taxable  wealth:  All  property  in  Wake  in 
1910  was  $347— whites,  $436;  negroes,  $44.  Three 
years  later  per  capita  wealth  of  negro  increases 
to  $58. 
69th  in  negro  farm  owners;  per  cent  of  all  negro  farms. .  27 

State  average  of  negro  farm  owners,  33  per  cent. 
Negro  farm  owners  in  Wake  number  577;  white 
farm  owners  in  Wake  are  55  per  cent  of  white 
farmers;  in  North  Carolina,  66  per  cent. 


28  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

31st  in  tax  rate,  State  and  county,  on  the  ?100  in  1913..  89% 

Sixty-nine    counties   liad    a   higher   rate.      Yancey 

County  had  the  highest  rate,  $1.68%. 
There  is  abundant  room  for  general  progress  and 
improvement  in  the  tax  rate  in  Walte.    The  State 
and  county  levy  in  1916  was  only  $1.00%,  and  38 
counties  were  carrying  a  heavier  tax  burden. 
38th  in  tax  value  of  farm  land  compared   with  census 

value,  per  cent 45 

4th  in  professional  taxes  paid  in  1916 $955.00 

There  were  191  doctors,  dentists,  lawyers,  photog- 
raphers, architects,  etc.,  in  Wake. 

5th  in  State  income  taxes  paid,  1916 $5,328.00 

Only   Mecklenburg,   Guilford,   New   Hanover,   and 
Forsyth  paid  more;  26  counties  paid  nothing. 

56th  in  white  farm  mortgages,  per  cent 19 

State  average  for  whites  is  17  per  cent. 

30th  in  negro  farm  mortgages,  per  cent 32 

State  average  for  negroes,  26  per  cent. 
For  both  races,  18  per  cent  in  North  Carolina. 
11th  in  Improved  roads  in  1913.  There  are  800  miles  of 
sand-clay  and  macadam  roads  in  the  county,  with 
thirteen  of  the  roads  leading  out  of  Raleigh. 
Here  good  roads  are  important  because,  within  a 
radius  of  100  miles  of  Raleigh,  there  are  1,791.908 
inhabitants  w^ith  over  seventy-five  brisk,  busy 
towns. 

6th  in  per  capita  bank  capital  in  1915 $15.38 

State  average,  ?S.51;  U.  S.,  $21.40. 

Total  bank  capital $1,031,000.00 

5th  in  per  capita  bank  loans  and  discounts  in  1915 $99.30 

State   average,    $45.     Total   bank   loans    and    dis- 
counts, $6,758,342. 

5th  in  per  capita  bank  resources  in  1915 $153.20 

State  average  per  capita,  $62.65.     Total  bank  re- 
sources, $10,389,992. 


Farm  Conditions,  Farm  Practices,  and  the 
Local  Market  Problem 

T.  P.  Habkison,  Jr.,  West  Raleigh 

Location 

Wake  is  one  of  our  41  cotton-belt  counties,  wliicli  is  a  most 
favorable  circumstance  for  her  farmers ;  for  those  living  in  this 
belt  are  blest  with  soils  and  seasons  that  can  be  made  to  yield 
under  intelligent  methods  not  only  cotton  in  superabundance, 
but  every  food  and  feed  crop  necessary  to  our  well-being.  Our 
climate  is  an  ideal  one  for  farming.  We  have  short,  mild  win- 
ters, a  long  growing  season,  and  an  abundant,  well  distributed 
rainfall.     Wake  is  preeminently  adapted  to  successful  farming. 

Let  us  see  what  specific  conditions  place  our  county  among 
the  most  desirable  farm  areas,  not  only  in  this  State,  but  in  the 
United  States,  market  facilities  considered.  Wake  is  situated 
in  the  east-central  portion  of  the  State.  Raleigh,  the  State  Cap- 
ital, is  located  in  the  center  of  the  county.  Three  extensive  rail- 
way systems — the  Southern,  the  Seaboard,  and  the  Norfolk 
Southern — ^traverse  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  county,  thus 
affording  farmers  a  ready  means  of  placing  their  produce  on  the 
market. 

Soil  and  Climate 

Wake  is  situated  on  a  corner  of  the  Piedmont  plateau  that 
projects  into  the  tide-water  country.  It  is  bisected  by  nu- 
merous streams  flowing  into  ISTeuse  River,  which  traverses  the 
county.  For  this  reason  the  land  is  rolling  and  possesses  an 
excellent  system  of  natural  drainage.  The  county  comprises 
540,800  acres,  of  which  approximately  50  per  cent  is  wooded 
and  only  35  per  cent  under  cultivation.  This  leaves  350,000 
acres  of  idle  land  in  pine  w^oods  and  broomsedge  fields ;  in  other 


30  WaJce  County:  Economic  and  Social 

words,  practically  two-thirds  of  the  total  area  is  imcultivated. 
Reserving  50,000  acres  for  wood-lot  uses  and  allotting  75  acres 
to  each  family,  there  is  room  iu  Wake  for  about  4,000  new  farm 
families.  Valuing  each  acre  at  a  minimum  of  $20,  we  have 
$7,000,000  of  dead  capital  tied  up  in  the  idle  land  of  Wake. 
Consider,  also,  how  greatly  the  value  of  this  land  would  increase 
under  proper  cultivation. 

According  to  a  Federal  survey,  the  soil  of  Wake  is  of  three 
types :  Cecil  sandy  loam,  Durham  coarse  sandy  loam,  and  Cecil 
coarse  sandy  loam.  While  cotton  and  tobacco  grow  well  in 
Wake,  the  report  lays  great  stress  upon  the  adaptability  of  our 
soils  to  all  truck  crops  and  the  grains,  as  well  as  upon  the  main 
forage  crops.  Our  lowlands  and  high  lands  are  both  admirably 
adapted  to  corn.  Sweet  and  Irish  potatoes  demand  nothing 
better  than  a  sandy  loam.  For  fruit  growing  and  for  trucking, 
Wake  is  wonderfully  fit. 

The  1910  Census  figures  show  that  the  crop-producing  power 
of  Wake  exceeds  that  of  the  richest  farm  counties  of  Illinois  and 
Iowa,  which  are  the  richest  farm  States  in  the  Union.  The 
average  crop  yield  per  acre  in  the  United  States,  according  to  the 
last  census  report,  was  $16.31 ;  for  Wake  County  it  was  $21.34. 
This  is  an  increase  of  $5.03  over  the  Nation  at  large.  This  is 
certainly  a  rank  of  which  we  should  be  proud,  so  proud  that  we 
should  get  busy  and  produce  per  acre  yields  that  will  put  Wake 
above  any  county  in  the  United  States.  We  can  do  it.  Why 
shouldn't  we?  The  crop  yield  of  Los  x\ngeles  County,  Cali- 
fornia, one  of  the  eight  banner  counties  in  agriculture  in  1910, 
was  only  $35  per  acre.  Wake  can  easily  go  ahead  of  this  aver- 
age even  in  ordinary  years. 

So  far  as  climatic  conditions  are  concerned,  we  are  certainly 
to  be  envied.  According  to  an  official  bulletin,  the  climate  of 
Wake  is  mild  and  well  suited  to  the  growing  of  a  great  variety 
of  crops.  The  first  frost  comes  about  ISTovember  3d;  the  last 
about  April  4th.  This  permits  a  growing  season  of  213  days, 
while  in  north  Wisconsin  and  North  Dakota  it  ranges  from  80 


Farm  Conditions,  Practices,  and  Local  Marhets  31 

to  110  days.  Thus  abundant  time  is  allowed  for  the  planting, 
maturing,  and  harvesting  of  all  our  crops.  Our  rainfall  is  ample 
and  well  distributed  throughout  the  year.  The  spring  and  fall 
months  are  ideal  farm  months.  We  can  readily  see,  then,  that 
farm  conditions  in  Wake  are  highly  favorable  to  successful 
farming.  In  so  far  as  actual  conditions  of  soils  and  seasons  are 
concerned,  Wake  could  stand  among  the  leaders  of  the  Nation  in 
the  production  of  annual  crop  wealth.  JSTeither  Wake  nor  any 
other  county  in  J^orth  Carolina  has  yet  cashed  in  the  values  of 
climate  alone. 

Faem  Methods  and  Practices 

IlTow,  it  is  well  that  we  examine  into  the  methods  and  prac- 
tices of  our  farmers  to  discover  whether  or  not  they  are  utilizing 
their  opportimities  to  best  advantage.  Are  they  carrying  for- 
ward the  chief  industry  of  Wake  in  such  a  way  as  to  contribute 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  county  ?  In  what  particulars  do  we 
fall  short  and  wherein  are  our  methods  and  practices  injur- 
ing us  ? 

The  1910  Census  shows  that  seven-tenths  of  the  total  crop 
wealth  of  Wake  was  produced  by  cotton  and  tobacco  alone.  A 
comparison  of  figures  indicates  that  for  many  years  increasing 
attention  was  paid  to  these  two  crops  and  decreasing  attention  to 
food  and  forage  crops.  Eeferring  to  the  conditions  existing  in 
Wake  in  1860,  we  can  see  by  the  table  at  the  end  of  this  article 
that  our  total  wheat  yield  decreased  80  per  cent  in  fifty  years, 
and  our  corn  crop  56  per  cent.  Other  crops  decreased  in  sim- 
ilar ratios.  Glancing  down  the  page,  we  find  that  during  this 
half  century  our  cotton  crop  increased  400  per  cent,  and  our 
tobacco  crop  practically  1,320  per  cent.  Our  record  for  live- 
stock is  also  alarming.  During  these  fifty  years  our  hog-raising 
industry  decreased  87  per  cent,  our  cattle  67  per  cent,  and  our 
sheep  95  per  cent.  Between  the  years  1900  and  1910  our  corn 
crop  decreased  considerably,  our  oat  crop  was  37  per  cent 
smaller,  and  our  wheat  crop  50  per  cent  smaller.     Since  1910, 


32  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

Wake  has  been  raising  less  cotton  and  more  food  and  feed  crops. 
In  1910  only  one-third  of  our  total  crop  values  were  produced 
by  food  crops.  In  the  census  year  we  imported  into  Wake 
County  four  and  a  quarter  million  pounds  of  meat,  two  and  a 
half  million  pounds  of  butter,  nearly  two  million  fowls,  three- 
quarter  million  dozens  of  eggs,  and  one  and  a  quarter  million 
bushels  of  corn.  These  statistics  clearly  indicate  that  up  to 
1910  Wake  was  headed  in  the  wrong  direction.  More  and  more 
we  were  inclined  to  neglect  food  crops,  and  to  give  more  and 
more  attention  to  cotton  and  tobacco  as  ready-cash  crops.  Con- 
sequently, instead  of  raising  our  bread  and  meat,  we  were  forced 
to  send  a  vast  amount  of  money  out  of  the  county  to  pay  for  farm 
and  pantry  supplies  we  failed  to  raise  at  home.  According  to 
an  authentic  statement,  we  sent  out  of  the  county  for  this  pur- 
pose in  1910  four  million  dollars  to  pay  for  imported  food  and 
feed  supplies  alone.  The  same  exhibit  shows  that  our  annual 
food  and  feed  amounted  to  six  million  dollars,  and  that  we  pro- 
duced at  home  a  little  less  than  two  million  dollars  worth  of 
breadstuffs.  In  that  year,  as  for  many  long,  long  years,  our 
cotton  and  tobacco  money  barely  paid  our  bill  for  imported  bread 
and  meat.  Our  agriculture  was  ill-balanced  and  unsafe,  and 
we  failed  to  realize  the  extent  to  which  this  state  of  affairs  was 
retarding  agriculture,  hindering  industrial  development,  reduc- 
ing accumulated  farm  wealth  to  a  minimum,  and  crippling  both 
banking  and  trade  in  Wake  County. 

In  the  census  year  the  per  capita  rural  wealth  of  Wake  County 
was  only  $272,  as  against  $322  in  North  Carolina,  $560  in 
Alleghany  County,  and  $944  in  the  United  States.  This  places 
Wake  as  forty-ninth  in  per  capita  country  wealth  among  the 
counties  of  the  State.  Alleghany  Count}',  which  produces  no 
cotton  and  no  tobacco,  ranks  first  in.  per  capita  rural  wealth  in 
North  Carolina,  while  Wake  with  far  greater  advantages  ranks 
only  fortv-ninth. 


Farm  Conditions,  Practices,  and  Local  Markets  33 

How  It  Is  Affecting  the  County 

These,  in  brief,  are  the  direct  results  of  the  farm  system  and 
methods  forced  npou  our  farmers  by  the  calamities  of  the  Civil 
War.  And  not  until  1910  did  either  Wake  County  or  the  State 
at  large  begin  to  balance  up  agriculture  with  more  food  crops, 
better  rotations,  more  and  better  livestock. 

The  time  has  come  when  we  must  stop  buying  farm  supplies 
with  cotton  and  tobacco  money;  and  since  the  census  year  we 
have  undoubtedly  made  great  changes  in  our  farm  systems.  But 
for  long  years  we  have  been  forced  to  buy  bread  and  meat,  grain, 
hay,  and  forage,  not  because  we  cannot  produce  them,  but  sim- 
ply because  we  did  not  raise  enough  of  them  to  fill  our  own  barns, 
bins,  and  pantries.  We  bought  supplies  shipped  in  over  long 
distances,  we  paid  exorbitant  transportation  charges,  and  enor- 
mous sums  went  to  a  swarming  multitude  of  middlemen.  The 
penalties  of  this  system  fell  upon  the  farmers,  but  even  more 
upon  the  town  and  city  dwellers  of  the  county. 

The  High  Cost  of  Living  in  Kaleigh 

The  fact  that  four  million  dollars  left  the  county  in  1910  to 
pay  for  imported  food  and  feed  largely  accounts  for  the  high 
cost  of  living  in  Raleigh.  According  to  a  Government  report, 
Raleigh  is  one  of  the  six  most  expensive  cities  in  the  United 
States  to  live  in.  Most  of  us  realize  what  the  high  cost  of  living 
means  to  industry  in  a  city  like  Raleigh.  It  implies  the  greatest 
hindrance  to  industrial  development  and  success  that  could 
possibly  be  presented.  A  high  cost  of  living  calls  for  high 
wages.  High  wages  mean  a  greater  labor  cost  in  factory  pro- 
duction, and  under  such  conditions  manufacturers  cannot  com- 
pete with  any  degree  of  success  with  other  concerns  located  in 
areas  where  the  labor  cost  of  production  is  lower.  When  labor 
costs  are  high,  profits  dwindle  or  disappear. 
3 


34:  Wake  Count jj:  Economic  and  Social 

In  order  that  the  high  cost  of  living  in  a  city  may  be  reduced 
to  a  minimum,  it  is  of  primary  importance  that  this  city  should 
become  the  center  of  a  well  developed  food  producing  region. 
In  normal  times  nearly  half  of  a  thousand-dollar  income  goes 
to  pay  for  family  food  alone ;  at  present  nearly  two-thirds  of  it. 
Therefore,  the  price  of  food  must  be  kept  at  the  lowest  possible 
level.  It  cannot  be  reduced  so  long  as  consumers  must  pay 
enormous  overhead  charges  for  transportation  and  distribution. 

Kaleigh,  as  we  have  seen,  is  by  no  means  the  center  of  a  well 
developed  food  producing  area.  If  the  cost  of  living  is  to  be 
kept  on  reasonable  levels,  producers  and  consumers  must  be  kept 
close  together.  The  city  in  America  with  the  safest  basis  for 
assured  growth  and  prosperity  is  invariably  the  center  of  an 
abundant  food-producing  region.  And  a  county  or  community 
that  cannot  or  will  not  feed  itself  cannot  expect  to  prosper. 
Wake  not  only  can  feed  herself,  but  she  is  capable  of  becoming 
one  of  the  leading  food-producing  counties  in  the  State.  When 
the  farmers  of  Wake  raise  cotton  and  tobacco  on  a  bread-and- 
meat  basis,  they  will  keep  at  home  the  four  million  dollars  a 
year  that  goes  into  the  pockets  of  the  Middle  Western  farmers,  or 
a  reasonable  portion  of  this  King's  ransom.  When  this  is  done, 
our  farm  wealth  will  easily  be  doubled  within  five  years. 

The  Ckop-Liex  System,  A  Hindrance 

Farm  tenancy  under  the  crop-lien  system  is  largely  responsi- 
ble for  the  meager  wealth  of  our  farm  population  and  the  high 
cost  of  living  in  Kaleigh.  In  1910  more  than  half  of  the  farms 
in  Wake  County  were  cultivated  by  tenants.  Three-fifths,  or 
1,922,  of  these  tenants  were  croppers,  and  1,357  were  cash,  or 
standing  rent  tenants.  These  farmers  are  obliged  to  go  into 
debt  to  the  supply  merchants  in  order  to  keep  soul  and  body  to- 
gether during  the  growing  season.  This  situation  is  the  eco- 
nomic result  of  our  crop-lien  system,  under  which  it  is  useless  to 


Farm  Conditions,  Practices,  and  Local  Marhets  35 

hope  that  our  farmers  will  plant  more  food  crops  and  less  of  the 
money  crops.  The  crop-lien  system  calls  for  a  money  crop,  one 
that  can  be  turned  into  instant,  ready  cash.  What  more  natural 
than  that  cotton  and  tobacco  should  be  planted,  both  being  crops 
that  can  be  turned  quickly  into  money  ?  Indeed,  he  is  forced, 
in  the  very  nature  of  things,  to  raise  cotton  and  tobacco  and 
neglect  food  and  feed  crops.  The  disastrous  one-crop,  farm- 
tenancy,  crop-lien,  supply-merchant  system  can  be  broken  down 
by  the  bankers  of  a  community,  and  by  the  bankers  alone.  The 
methods  of  the  Texas  bankers  will  be  discussed  later  on. 

The  Lack  of  Adequate  Market  Facilities 

Another  factor  that  forces  Wake  farmers  to  neglect  food  crops 
and  to  plant  the  money  crops  is  the  lack  of  conveniences  and 
facilities  in  Raleigh  for  marketing  home-raised  bread-and-meat 
products.  When  the  farmer  plants  cotton  and  tobacco  he  real- 
izes that  the  whole  world  is  an  organized  market  for  them.  He 
does  not  have  to  seek  the  market,  the  market  seeks  him.  They 
are  an  acceptable  credit  collateral  even  before  they  are  planted. 
They  can  be  turned  into  instant  cash  the  minute  he  gets  into 
town.  iS'ot  so  with  the  food  products,  for  Raleigh  is  inade- 
quately equipped  with  modern  marketing  facilities.  Or,  what 
is  more  nearly  true,  the  housewives  of  Raleigh  do  not  have  the 
marketing  habits  of  the  housewives  in  Baltimore  and  IsTew  Or- 
leans. When  a  farmer  brings  his  produce  to  Raleigh  he  is  forced 
either  to  peddle  it  from  door  to  door,  or  to  stand  idle  in  the 
market  place  waiting  for  customers.  This  state  of  affairs  is  bad 
for  the  producers  and  the  consumers  in  Wake  County.  Since 
we  have  erected  a  county  courthouse  costing  more  than  all  the 
public  school  property  in  the  county,  certainly  we  should  be 
equally  eager  to  provide  the  various  facilities  necessary  for  the 
marketing  of  home-produced  food  products.  Our  city  market  is 
beginning  to  serv^e  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  erected,  but  until 


36  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

the  consumer  is  brought  to  buy  his  food  personally,  until  the 
merchants  will  accept  corn  and  other  food  crops  as  collateral  for 
loans,  until  the  banks  force  the  merchants  to  do  this,  and  until 
the  farmers  themselves  raise  more  of  the  food  and  feed  cro})S,  our 
marketing  facilities  will  be  inadequate  and  Wake  will  continue 
to  send  money  out  of  the  county  annually  to  buy  what  she  can 
so  easily  raise  at  home.  The  rest-room  for  women  in  the  county 
courthouse  is  a  forward  step  in  this  matter,  and  is  being  well 
used  by  the  farmers'  wives  and  daughters.  A  fuller  discussion 
of  this  matter  is  given  in  the  chapter  on  "Our  Problems  and 
Their  Solution." 

When  we  consider  what  this  backwardness  implies,  what  pen- 
alties we  are  paying,  should  we  not  be  planning  and  scheming 
to  discover  the  means  for  remedying  these  conditions?  With- 
out the  best  marketing  facilities  by  which  our  farmers  may 
quickly  and  successfully  dispose  of  their  products,  we  cannot 
hope  that  they  will  respond.  We  must  make  them  see  the  ad- 
vantages in  raising  food  crops  before  they  will  begin  to  cooperate 
in  any  measure  in  solving  this  problem.  That  Wake  County  is 
capable  of  raising  its  own  food  no  one  acquainted  with  the  facts 
can  deny.  With  our  crop  yield  per  acre  averaging  $5.03  above 
that  of  the  Uuited  States,  we  could  raise  our  own  food  in  super- 
abundance. Our  Corn  Club  boys  have  demonstrated  our  corn- 
raising  capabilities.  In  1914,  72  corn-club  boys  averaged  49  1/5 
bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre  at  a  cost  of  only  40  cents  per  bushel. 
At  this  rate,  our  adult  farmers  could  produce  on  the  corn  acre- 
age of  the  county  2,500,000  bushels,  or  enough  for  home  con- 
sumption and  a  half  million  bushels  over  to  sell  abroad. 

How  We  Can  Remedy  the  Situatioist 

After  carefully  considering  our  status  in  food  production  and 
the  facts  underlying  the  truth  that  Wake  is  a  poor  county  in  per 
capita  country  wealth,  let  us  look  at  the  ways  out.     In  the  first 


Farm  Conditions,  Practices,  and  Local  Markets  37 

place,  we  must  solve  the  problem  of  local  markets  for  home- 
raised  food  and  feed  products.  Consumers  and  producers  must 
be  brought  together,  farmers  must  get  more  for  their  products 
and  consumers  more  for  their  money.  This  double  result  means 
the  elimination  of  useless  middlemen. 

The  banks  can  help  immensely.  If  they  establish  credit  ac- 
commodations, big  scale  marketing  will  be  facilitated.  Texas 
has  set  an  enviable  pace  in  this  direction.  Her  banks  now 
refuse  loans  to  supply  merchants  doing  a  crop-lien  business  pro- 
tected by  cotton  acreage  alone.  They  require  that  a  certain 
part  of  the  acreage  be  put  in  food  crops,  thus  forcing  every 
farmer  to  raise  a  sufficiency  of  bread  and  meat.  The  supply 
merchant  can  discount  no  other  kind  of  a  crop-lien  at  the  bank. 
Thus  the  bankers  force  the  supply  merchants  to  force  the  farmers 
to  raise  cotton  on  a  bread-and-meat  basis.  As  a  result,  they  are 
keeping  at  home  the  $217,000,000  that  in  the  past  has  been 
leaving  the  State  to  pay  for  imported  food  supplies.  Moreover, 
the  Texas  boards  of  trade  are  maintaining  free  telephone  market 
information  exchanges.  Impartially  operated,  they  are  proving 
an  immense  advantage  in  informing  farmers  as  to  market  condi- 
tions and  demands,  and  customers  about  the  farmers  with 
products  to  sell. 

Our  banks,  our  Merchants'  Association,  our  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, and  our  Rotary  Club  in  Raleigh  must  all  pull  together 
to  solve  these  problems.  And  when  we  have  our  work  well 
under  way  it  will  mean  that  our  home-made  money  will  be  kept 
at  home,  and  a  vast  enhancement  of  rural  wealth  and  city  trade, 
manufacture,  and  banking  will  follow.  It  was  a  four-million- 
dollar  proposition  in  1910 ;  and  unless  we  are  now  raising  more 
food  and  feed  products  than  we  were  at  that  time,  it  is  some- 
thing like  a  ten-million-dollar  proposition  today. 


38  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

Facts  About  Farm  Conditions  in  1010 

The  figures  oii  the  left  indicate  rank ;  that  is,  they  show  how 
many  counties  made  a  better  showing. 

38th  in  land  under  cultivation.    Per  cent  of  total  area 35.5 

State  average,  29  per  cent. 

Land  under  cultivation,  191,864  acres.  Idle  acres,  348,936, 
or  two-thirds  of  total  area. 

2d  in  number  of  farms 6,137 

Average  cultivated  acres  per  farm,  31.3.  Size  of  cultivated 
farms  larger  in  58  counties.  About  one-third  are  less 
than  50  acree  in  eize,  both  cultivated  and  uncultivated 
land  considered. 

16th  in  poultry  increase,  1900-1910.    Per  cent 33.3 

97,930  fowls  of  all  kinds  in  county  in  1910.  Rank  in  num- 
ber of  fow^ls  on  hand,  5th. 

43d  in  cattle  per  thousand  acres 24 

State  average,  23;  U.  S.,  61. 

14th  in  cattle  increase,  1900-1910.    Per  cent 31 

Caldwell  increase,  62  per  cent;  State  average  increase,  12 
per  cent. 

44th  in  hogs  per  1,000  acres 33 

State  average,  39;  U.  S.,  66;  Iowa,  263. 

53d  in  swine  decrease,  1900-1910.    Per  cent 11 

69  counties  decreased;  only  28  increased. 

67th  in  sheep  losses,  1900-1910.    Per  cent 62 

Total  number  lost,  785;  worth  $2,826.  Wake  ought  to  en- 
force her  dog  license  tax.  The  revenue  from  this  source 
for  schools  in  1916  was  only  $452;  in  Halifax  it  was 
$3,323. 

73d  in  farm  tenancy,  per  cent 54.3 

State  average,  42.3  per  cent.  Ten-year  increase  in  Wake, 
1.1  per  cent.  Forty-seven  counties  decreased  in  farm  ten- 
ancy. White  tenants  in  Wake,  1,757;  negro  tenants,  1,576. 
The  landless,  homeless,  white  tenants  and  their  families 
number  nearly  9,000  souls.  Three-fifths  of  all  tenants  are 
croppers,  1,922  in  number.  1,357  are  cash,  or  standing 
rent  tenants. 


Farm  Conditions,  Practices,  and  Local  Markets  39 

Facts  About  Farm  Pkactices 

9th  in  cotton  production;  total  crop,  1914,  bales 29,253 

Robeson  first  with  74,168  bales.  Five-year  increase, 
6.5  per  cent.  Fifty-seven  counties  increased  at  a 
greater  rate;  eight  counties  decreased  in  cotton 
production.  Cotton  production  per  acre  in  Wake 
in  1910  was  282.1  lbs.;  rank,  15th.     State  average, 

261  lbs.  .  ._Q  Af^o 

12th  in  tobacco  production  in  1910 ;  pounds 4,*  <  o,u  <  o 

For  1900  it  was  3,143,390  pounds. 

86th  in  non-food  crops  produced-cotton,  tobacco,  etc $  2,832,bZb.uu 

Cotton  and  tobacco,  per  cent  of  total  crop  wealth, 
69  per  cent  of  total  farm  wealth  produced;  non- 
food crops,  31  per  cent. 

2d  in  annual  farm  wealth  produced ?  4,»i»,ou<.uu 

This  total  covers  both  crops  and  animal  products. 
Every  two  and  one-third  years  the  farmers  produce 
more  wealth  than  they  have  been  able  to  accumu- 
late in  140  years.  ^^ 

19th  in  crop-yielding  power  per  acre 

State  average,  $20.18  in  1914.  Compares  well  with 
Missouri,  $13.96;  Minnesota,  $13.19;  North  Dakota, 
$11.10;   South  Dakota,  $10.79  in  1910. 

18th  in  production  of  annual  farm  wealth  per  person $109.50 

State  average,  $85.  Average  of  French  farmers,  $126. 

85th  in  food  and  feed  production  per  person ?31.00 

Needed,    $84    per    person;    deficit,    $53    per    person. 
Total  deficit,  $3,987,000. 
86th  in  food  and  feed  crops;  per  cent  of  total  crop  value. . .  31 

Alleghany,  89  per  cent;  State  average,  47;  Wake 
ranks  50th  here. 

Facts  About  Food  and  Feed  Production 

4th  in  corn  production;  total  crop,  bushels 686,991 

Robeson  first  with  1,142,060. 

86th  in  corn  produced  per  person;  bushels 

Needed  per  person,  31  bu.;  deficit  of  20  bu.  Total 
deficit,  1,273,108  bu.  State  average,  15  bu.  per 
person  in  1910. 

54th  in  wheat  production  per  person;  bushels 

Needed,  4  bu.  per  person;  deficit  per  person,  3.6  bu. 
Total  deficit,  227,539  bushels.  Only  15  counties 
in  1910  raised  wheat  surpluses.  Loss  in  wheat 
production,  1900-1910,  was  49  per  cent. 


40  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

24th  In  oat  production;  total  crop,  bushels 39,809 

The  loss  In  oat  production,  1900-1910,  was  19  per  cent. 

15th  In  hay  and  forage  production;   total  crop,  tons 6,060 

Ten-year  increase,  1900-1910,  was  48  per  cent. 

72d  In  beef  production  per  person;  pounds 16 

State  average,  33.8  pounds. 

85th  in  pork  production  per  person;  pounds 52 

State  average,  93  pounds. 

72d  In  poultry  production  per  person;  fowls 5 

Needed,  13  fowls  per  person  per  year;  deficit,  8  fowls 
per  person.     Total  deficit,  505,000. 

97th  in  egg  deficit;  dozen 672,700 

Needed,  171/,  doz.  per  person;   produced,  7  doz. ;   de- 
ficit, 101/2  doz. 
86th  in  Increase  in  farm  sales  of  dairy  product;  per  cent. .  24 

Total  sales  in  1910  were  $83,634.  State  increase  was 
146  per  cent.  Wake  produced  11.7  lbs.  butter  per 
person.    The  average  amount  needed  was  48  lbs. 

39th  in  live-stock  products  per  person $17.00 

Alleghany,  $65;  State  average,  $17.  Per  capita  crop 
production  in  Wake  was  $31.  Total  farm  wealth 
produced,  $48  per  person. 

97th  In  bill  for  imported  food  and  feed  supplies $  3,987,000.00 

In  three  years  it  equals  the  farm  wealth  accumulated 
in  140  years. 

1st  in  Boys'  Corn  Club  enrollment  in  1914;  boys 352 

Average  per  acre  yield,  40.2  bushels,  or  nearly  four 
times  the  average  for  the  country.  At  this  rate 
the  grown-ups  might  have  produced  corn  enough 
for  home  consumption  and  a  half-million  bushels 
over  to  sell.    Instead  they  bought  1,273,108  bushels. 

15th  in  Girls'  Canning  Club  enrollment,  1914 20 

Tins  and  glass  jars  filled,  7.120;  rank,  13th.  Clear 
profits,  $657.80;  rank,  13th. 

Fakm  Crops  ix  Wake  in  1860  and  1910 

1860.     Hogs  46,710  or  nearly  2      per  inhabitant 

1910.  16,952  or  nearly     Vi  per  inhabitant 

Per  capita  decrease,       87  per  cent 
1860.     Wheat  79,293  bu.  or  nearly  3     bu.  per  inhabitant 

1910.  25,377  bu.  or  nearly     %bu.  per  inhabitant 

Per  capita  decrease,      87  per  cent 
1860.    Corn  725,843  bu.  or  25.4  bu.  per  inhabitant 

1910.  686,991  bu.  or  11     bu.  per  inhabitant 

Per  capita  decrease,      56  per  cent 


Farm  Conditions,  Practices,  and  Local  Markets          41 

1S60. 

Oats 

48,391  bu.  or  nearly  9     bu.  per  work 

animal 

1910. 

39,809  bu.  or  nearly  414  bu.  per  work 

animal 

Per  capital  decrease, 

50  per  cent 

1860. 

Cotton 

5,889  bales   (500  lbs.) 

1910. 

29,367  bales 

Total  increase, 

400  per  cent 

1860. 

Tobacco 

314,755  lbs. 

1910. 

4,478,073  lbs. 

Total  increase, 

1,320  per  cent 

1860. 

Potatoes 

244,066  bu.  or  8%  bu.  per  inhabitant 

1910. 

251,394  bu.  or  4      bu.  per  inhabitant 

Per  capita  decrease. 

51  per  cent 

1860. 

Hay 

7,782  tons  or  1.4     per  work  animal 

1910. 

5,575  tons  or     .61  per  work  animal 

Per  capita  decrease. 

56  per  cent 

1860. 

Cattle 

16,777  or  .59  per  inhabitant 

1910. 

12,405  or  .19  per  inhabitant 

Per  capita  decrease, 

67  per  cent 

1860. 

Sheep 

10,738 

1910. 

476 

Total  decrease,   95  per  cent 


Seven- Year  Gains  in  Wake  County 
Rural  Schools 

OusBY  R.  Cunningham,  Apex 

Since  the  memorable  educational  awakening  in  Wake  County 
during  the  Aycock  administration,  a  great  deal  of  interest  has 
been  centered  in  the  rural  schools.  The  people  of  the  county 
have  realized  the  needs  of  the  rural  districts,  and  by  their  will- 
ingness to  be  taxed,  and  by  other  sacrifices  of  its  citizens,  the 
county  has  made  wonderful  strides  in  the  development  of  its 
educational  system.  There  are  no  better  country  schools  in  the 
State  or  the  entire  South. 

1.     Consolidation  of  Schools 

In  1908-'09  the  white  school  property  was  valued  at  $126,567 ; 
seven  years  later  the  value  was  $306,671,  or  an  increase  of  142 
per  cent.  There  were  88  rural  white  schools  in  Wake  in  1908- 
'09,  and  76  in  1915-'16,  a  decrease  of  14  per  cent.  The  reason 
for  the  decrease  in  number  of  white  schools  during  this  period 
lies  in  consolidation  of  many  of  the  small  schools,  a  policy  which 
has  been  advantageous  to  the  county.  The  people  have  begun 
to  realize  the  great  advantages  which  result  from  consolidation, 
namely,  the  graded  system,  better  attention  to  tlie  training  of 
little  children,  longer  class  periods,  and  longer  terms.  There 
were  34  country  schools  in  1908-'09  with  two  or  more  teachers ; 
seven  years  later  the  number  was  the  same.  In  1908-'09  all 
but  five  of  the  schools  were  equipped  with  patent  desks;  in 
1915-'16  only  one  school  had  old-fashioned  home-made  desks. 
These  facts  indicate  that  Wake  County  has  taken  a  wise  step  in 
developing  consolidated  rural  schools.  Thus,  more  of  our  coun- 
try children  are  in  school,  the  numbers  enrolled  moving  up  from 
76  to  81  per  cent.     But,  also,  they  attend  better,  the  average 


Seven-Year  Gains  in  Rural  Schools  43 

daily  attendance  moving  up  from  57  to  63  per  cent.  Every 
school  man  knows  that  these  are  tremendous  gains  in  a  seven- 
year  period.  These  increases  would  not  have  been  possible  with- 
out the  school  supervisors  of  the  county.  Wake  leads  the  State 
in  this  modern  movement,  and  she  will  be  in  disgrace  if  she  loses 
her  primacy  in  this  particular. 

2.     Increasing  Liberality 

The  table  that  follows  shows  that  during  this  interval  our 
total  expenditures  on  country  schools  was  more  than  doubled, 
the  increase  being  150  per  cent;  that  the  amount  spent  for  teach- 
ing and  supervision  was  nearly  trebled,  the  increase  being  189 
per  cent;  that  the  average  annual  salary  of  the  rural  white 
teacher  was  more  than  doubled,  the  increase  being  124  per  cent. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  expenses  of  administration  show  an 
increase  of  only  80  per  cent. 

Wake  County  leads  the  State  in  the  total  amount  invested  in 
country  school  property.  In  1915-'16  the  value  of  such  prop- 
erties was  $306,671,  which  was  nearly  two  and  a  half  times  the 
total  value  of  1908-'09.  ISTo  other  county  in  this  or  any  other 
State  can  show  such  gains  in  a  seven-year  period. 

3.     Teachers'  Salaries 

The  number  of  rural  white  teachers  has  grown  from  136  to 
199,  an  increase  of  46  per  cent.  Likewise,  there  has  been  a 
noticeable  gain  in  the  average  annual  salary  of  rural  white 
teachers.  The  increase  in  seven  years  was  from  $153.59  to 
$344,  a  gain  of  124  per  cent.  But  still  the  teachers  of  our 
county,  like  those  of  every  other  in  the  State,  are  very  poorly 
paid  today,  the  high  cost  of  living  considered.  The  figures  of 
the  Washington  authorities  show  that  the  teacher's  dollar  will 
buy  less  than  half  as  much  as  it  would  in  1914.  Meantime,  the 
quality  of  our  country  school  teaching  corps  has  immensely  im- 


44  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

proved.  In  1908,  36  of  them  held  college  diplomas;  seven 
years  later  the  number  had  increased  to  G8,  a  gain  of  29  per 
cent.  Thus  we  see  that  our  teachers  are  giving  more  time  and 
money  preparing  to  render  better  service  in  the  schools.  The 
people  of  Wake  need  to  realize  that  their  country  school  teachers 
must  have  a  living  wage.  If  it  cannot  be  so,  our  splendid  sys- 
tem will  promptly  fall  to  pieces,  and  the  children  of  the  county 
will  pay  the  penalty. 

4.     Small  School  Population  and  Large  Attendance 

The  total  school  population  in  1908-'09  was  13,212,  and  in 
1915-'16  it  was  15,315,  an  increase  of  IG  per  cent.  Total  en- 
rollment increased  from  10,131  to  12,522,  a  gain  of  24  per  cent. 
But  best  of  all,  our  average  daily  attendance  increased  from 
5,826  to  7,890,  a  gain  of  35  per  cent.  These  are  marvelous 
gains,  considering  the  fact  that  more  than  half,  or  54  per  cent, 
of  our  country  people  are  tenant  farmers  who  move  from  place 
to  place  year  by  year  and  thus  gradually  lose  their  interest  in 
schools.  So  it  usually  is  in  counties  afflicted  by  the  tenant-farm 
system.  But  not  in  Wake;  which  means  that  our  excellent 
country  schools  are  a  bulwark  of  defense  for  farm  landowners. 
They  have  helped  to  keep  a  desirable  class  of  tenants  in  the 
county. 

The  foregoing  statements  are  based  on  the  tables  at  the  end 
of  this  discussion.  They  illustrate  the  progress  that  Wake 
County  has  made  in  education  during  the  last  seven  years. 
Today  we  have  four  excellent  county  high  schools,  namely,  at 
Cary,  Wakelon,  Holly  Springs,  and  Bay  Leaf.  Two  of  these 
high  schools,  Wakelon  and  Cary,  have  farm-life  departments. 
The  total  property  of  these  four  county  high  schools  is  valued  at 
$110,000.  In  addition  to  these  county  high  schools,  there  are 
23  other  schools  in  which  some  high  school  instruction  is  given. 
Of  these,  the  principal  ones  are  the  Apex  Graded  School  and  the 
Wendell  Graded  School,  both  of  which  prepare  students  for 
college. 


Seven-Year  Gains  in  Rural  Schools  45 

In  the  educational  development  of  our  county  much  credit  is 
due  the  women,  who  have  organized  themselves  into  what  is 
known  as  the  Woman's  Betterment  Association.  Since  the  be- 
ginning of  this  organization,  in  addition  to  giving  other  aid  to 
the  cause  of  education,  the  association  has  raised  large  sums  of 
money  in  various  ways,  which  has  been  spent  in  establishing 
libraries,  domestic  science  courses,  beautifying  school  grounds, 
and  in  various  other  helpful  ways.  The  modesty  of  these  inter- 
ested women  has  prevented  them  from  getting  credit  for  many 
things  that  they  have  accomplished. 

Great  credit  for  our  successful  educational  development  is 
due  our  former  County  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Prof.  Z.  V. 
Judd,  and  to  the  former  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Education, 
Mr.  L.  J.  Sears.  These  men  with  untiring  efforts  piloted  our 
educational  system  through  its  early  struggle  with  ignorance 
and  placed  the  country  schools  on  a  firm  basis.  Our  present 
County  Superintendent,  Dr.  E.  W.  Knight,  and  Mr.  E.  B. 
Crow,  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Education,  are  continuing 
the  fight  against  ignorance  and  illiteracy  in  Wake  with  the  same 
enthusiasm  and  vigor  with  which  the  educational  movement 
began. 

Wake's  County  Commencement  is  an  important  event,  and 
everybody  takes  an  interest  in  it  because  the  people  appreciate 
its  significance  and  value.  But  despite  our  growth  in  the  past, 
we  still  have  room  for  improvement  in  our  schools.  Since  our 
country  is  at  war,  it  will  be  necessary  for  us  to  make  greater 
sacrifices  than  we  have  made  heretofore  to  keep  our  schools  on 
the  highest  possible  level.  But  we  must  "keep  the  lights  of 
learning  burning,"  because  after  the  war  trained  minds  will  be 
needed  to  solve  the  great  problems  that  will  confront  not  only 
America,  but  the  world.  With  the  cooperation  of  every  citizen, 
Wake  County's  educational  system  will  continue  to  grow,  be- 
cause the  people  fully  realize  the  necessity  of  good  educational 
facilities. 


46 


Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 


SEVEN-YEAR  GAINS  IN  WAKE  COUNTY 
1908-09  TO  1915-16 

190S-09 

Total  expenditures   162,632.00 

Spent  on  teachers  and  supervision. .     28.769.00 

Administration  expenses  4,370.00 

New  buildings,  both  races $19,133.00 

Total  school  population 13,212 

Total  enrollment   10,131 

Per  cent  of  enrollment 76 

Average  daily  attendance 5,826 

Per  cent  attending 57 

Average  annual  salaries,  white  rural       $153.59 

School  property   $126,567.00 

Rural  white  schools 88 

Having  two  or  more  teachers 34 

Per     cent     having     two     or     more 

teachers 39 

Total  rural  white  teachers 136 

Number  rural  white  teachers   with 

four  years  experience 70 

Number  having  college  diplomas...  36 

White  schools  with  patent  desks...  83 

White  schools  with  home-made  desks  5 

New  schoolhouses,  both  races 4 

Cost    $14,492.00 

Total   school   districts 88 

Local  tax  districts,  number No  report 

Total  raised  by  local  district  taxes. .     $7,820.00 

Note. — *  means  decrease. 


RURAL  SCHOOLS. 


PerCcyit 

1915-16 

Increase 

$156,584.00 

150 

83,085.00 

189 

7,853.00 

80 

$23,905.00 

25 

15,315 

16 

12,522 

24 

81 

5 

7,890 

35 

63 

6 

$344.00 

124 

$306,671.00 

142 

76 

12* 

34 

45 

6 

199 

46 

113 

61 

68 

90 

75 

1 

80* 

7 

75 

$15,854.00 

9 

75 

15* 

45 

. . . 

$29,972.00 

283 

STATUS  OF  WAKE  COUNTY  SCHOOLS,   1913-14 
Rank 

3d  in  total  taxable  wealth  in  1914 $28,299,788.00 

1st  in  investment  in  rural  school  property,  1914 $266,569.00 

On  a  per  capita  basis.  Wake,  with  $11.02,  was  out- 
ranked   only    by    New    Hanover,    Craven,    and 
Durham. 
21st  in  local  school  tax  rate  (county  and  special),  on  the 

$1,000  $5.97 

Pamlico  leads  with  $8.90,  and  Hertford  comes  last 
with  $3.45. 
1st  in  amount  spent  upon  buildings  and  supplies $95,074.00 


Seven-Year  Gains  in  Rural  Schools  47 

18th  in  salaries  paid  white  rural  school  teachers $292.40 

State  average,  $235.27.  Of  the  169  white  teachers  in 
the  county,  all  have  had  four  years  experience; 
98  have  normal  training;  and  55  had  college 
diplomas. 

19th  in  number  of  local  tax  districts;  per  cent 48.7 

37  out  of  the  total  number  of  76  school  districts  levy 
a  local  tax. 

1st  in  total  revenues  from  district  tax $75,831.00 

Received  from  State  appropriation  and  equalizing 
fund  $14,473,  and  $1,650  from  the  High  School 
Fund. 

33d  in  school  attendance  on  enrollment;  per  cent 76.7 

Watauga  leads  with  87.3  per  cent.    Hyde  is  lowest 
with  55.2  per  cent. 
2d  in  rural  white  schools  with  two  or  more  teachers; 

per  cent  

53  of  the  77  schools  have  two  or  more  teachers. 
—    in    rural    white    schools    with    patent    desks;     per 

cent    

75  schoolhousss,  and  all  are  equipped  with  patent 
desks. 

63d  in  expenditures  per  high  school  pupil  enrolled $23.18 

An    increase   of    $2.03   over   the   year   1907-08,   at 
which  date  the  county  ranked  45th.     In  1913-14 
the  county  had  3  four-year  high  schools  and  2 
two-year  high  schools  with  8  whole  and  1  part 
time  high  school  teachers.     It  raised  for   high 
schools    $2,806,    and    received    from    the    State 
$1,750. 
11th  in  high  school  attendance  on  enrollment;  per  cent. .  83.7 
Burke  leads  with  93.2  per  cent;   Wayne  is  lowest 
with  54.3  per  cent. 
4th  in  per  capita  investment  in  rural  white  school  prop- 
erty, 1913-14    ?ll-02 

N.  C.  average,  $5.10.  Durham  first  with  $13.97; 
Tyrrell  last  with  44c. 


68.8 


100 


Where  Wake  Leads 

George  B.  Lay,  Raleigh 

Of  the  many  things  that  Wake  County  has  to  be  proud  of,  the 
most  impressive  is  the  simple  fact  that  it  is  the  capital  county 
of  the  State  and  has  as  a  county-seat  the  progressive  city  of 
Raleigh,  vphose  business  men  stand  for  high  ideals  and  who 
today  have  "Wide  Awake,  Raleigh,"  as  an  inspiring  motto 
uppermost  in  their  minds. 

Raleigh 

Raleigh,  with  a  population  of  30,000,  has  grown  from  a  coun- 
try town,  twenty  years  ago,  into  a  dignified  and  beautiful  city, 
with  an  enormous  business  wealth.  It  is  a  distributing  point 
for  many  of  the  most  important  concerns  that  do  business  in 
this  State.  Its  central  geographical  position  and  fine  railway 
connections,  together  with  the  rich  trade  territory  and  its  possi- 
bilities, are  assets  that  are  invaluable,  and,  in  time,  should  place 
Raleigh  ahead  of  every  other  city  in  the  State. 

Among  the  unique  assets  of  Raleigh  are  the  colleges  and 
schools  that  are  situated  there.  The  State  College  of  Agriculture 
and  Engineering,  and  the  three  schools  for  women — Meredith, 
Peace,  and  St.  Mary's — with  their  annual  influx  of  girls,  are  of 
inestimable  value  to  our  city,  and  we  are  justly  proud  of  them 
all.  The  numerous  State  institutions,  such  as  the  State  School 
for  the  Blind,  the  State  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  and  many 
others,  make  our  Capital  City  a  central  meeting  point  for  the 
State.  Our  colored  schools,  St.  Augustine  and  Shaw  Univers- 
ity, the  Catholic  and  the  Methodist  orphanages  are  also  institu- 
tions of  conspicuous  worth  and  influence.  We  take  pride  in 
them  as  a  sure  indication  of  our  school  advancement.  Raleigh 
is  also  the  gathering  point  for  many  of  the  most  important 


Where  Wake  Leads  49 

meetings  of  the  State,  not  to  speak  of  the  State  Legislature  and 
the  State  Fair.  Our  great  city  auditorium  makes  Ealeigh  the 
logical  convention  city  of  the  State. 

Our  Schools 

The  progress  that  Wake  has  made  in  the  last  few  years  in 
improving  her  schools  is  remarkable.  The  amount  raised  by 
local  district  taxes  for  the  support  of  her  country  schools  alone 
increased  nearly  300  per  cent  between  1909-1916.  The  average 
annual  salary  of  her  white  rural  teachers  was  more  than  dou- 
bled during  this  period,  although  it  is  still  below  a  living  wage. 
Meanwhile,  her  country  school  property  increased  142  per  cent. 
In  every  way  Wake  has  stepped  to  the  forefront  in  public  school 
progi-ess  in  North  Carolina.  Her  per  capita  investment  in  rural 
school  property,  not  including  the  school  property  of  Raleigh,  is 
$11.02,  which  is  beyond  the  State  average  of  $5.10,  and  very 
near  that  of  the  leading  county  of  the  State — Durham,  with 
$13.97.  The  average  salary  of  the  white  teachers  in  the  county, 
town  and  country,  was  $429.54  in  1916.  Only  five  counties 
paid  more;  while  her  rural  white  teachers  received  $292,  only 
17  counties  paying  more.  The  need  of  better  schools  with  better- 
paid  teachers  is  evident,  because  the  native  white  illiterates  of 
non-voting  age  in  the  county  were  9.8  per  cent,  the  illiterate 
white  males  of  voting  age  were  11.5  per  cent  of  this  age  group. 

Of  late  years  Wake  has  pursued  the  sensible  policy  of  con- 
solidating her  rural  schools,  a  step  which  means  better  buildings, 
better  teachers,  and  better  equipment.  She  has  built  some  of 
the  finest  rural  high  schools  in  the  State,  in  Gary,  Wakelon, 
Holly  Springs,  and  Bay  Leaf.  Efficiency,  better  teachers,  better 
salaries,  and  the  best  equipment  possible  are  some  of  the  ideals 
that  Wake  County  educators  have  cherished ;  and  as  a  result  the 
country  schools  of  Wake  have  made  greater  progress  during  the 
last  few  years  than  in  a  whole  century  before. 
4 


50  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

Wake  is  the  capital  county  of  the  State,  the  home  of  the  State 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  and  the  State  Loard  of 
Education,  and  naturally  she  has  led  in  the  development  of  her 
educational  system.  As  mentioned  before,  consolidation,  better 
paid  teachers,  and  better  supervision  have  been  the  mainsprings 
of  Wake's  policy.  This  development  has  been  going  on,  slow  at 
tirst,  ever  since  the  days  of  Governor  Aycock,  who  put  life  into 
public  education  in  North  Carolina.  Since  then  the  efforts  of 
many  loyal  men  have  added  to  the  improvement  of  our  schools. 
The  work,  however,  of  Wake's  former  County  Superintendent 
of  Schools,  Mr.  Z.  V.  Judd,  and  the  former  Chairman  of  her 
Board  of  Education,  !Mr.  L.  J.  Sears,  was  untiring  and  has 
meant  more  for  the  county  than  the  average  citizen  even  dreams 
of.  Through  their  efforts  the  schools  of  the  county  were  put 
upon  a  firm  basis.  They  must,  however,  be  enormously 
strengthened  to  meet  the  necessities  that  public  education  every- 
where will  face  when  this  war  is  over. 

Our  present  Superintendent,  Dr.  E.  W.  Knight,  and  the 
Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Education,  Mr.  E.  B.  Crow,  are  ably 
fitted  to  lead  in  the  fight  against  the  perils  that  now  test  our 
country  schools  and  nerve  our  people  to  bear  the  increased  bur- 
dens that  will  come  with  peace.  Our  schools  must  be  kept  up  to 
their  former  high  level,  and  they  must  also  evidence  the  growth 
that  President  Wilson  and  Lloyd  George  both  insist  upon  as 
necessary  for  the  public  welfare,  even  in  these  times  of  immense 
expenditures  for  war.  It  is  not  a  wise  policy  to  cut  down  the 
local  tax  or  the  total  of  the  school  appropriations,  for  our  schools 
are  the  soul  of  democracy,  for  which  we  are  fighting  today. 

Wealth 

The  fact  that  Wake  County  ranks  third  in  the  State  in  taxable 
wealth  is  an  enviable  record.  In  1013  her  taxables  were  $27,- 
211.050,  which  increased  to  $31,61:8,704  in  1916.  Her  total 
farm  wealth  in  the  last  census  vear  amounted  to  $11,982,984, 


Where  Wake  Leads  51 

although  Wake  has  not  been  considered  an  agricultural  county. 
And  here  we  venture  to  say  that  it  must  be  so  considered  in  the 
future,  if  banking  and  merchandizing  are  to  develop  into  the 
largest  possible  proportions  in  Wake. 

During  the  period  1900-'09  the  increase  in  value  of  farm  ani- 
mals was  132  per  cent,  while  the  State  increase  was  only  109 
per  cent. 

In  1916  Wake  paid  into  the  State  Treasury  $5,328  as  personal 
income  taxes.  Only  four  counties  paid  more.  In  1913  our 
professional  taxes  amounted  to  $895,  and  only  one  county  paid 
more.  But  in  1916  nobody  paid  any  professional  taxes  for 
county  support.  Here  is  a  defect  in  our  salary  plan  of  paying 
county  officers. 

Wake,  with  6,137  farms,  and  ranking  in  this  respect  second 
in  the  State,  is  also  second  in  annual  farm  wealth  produced. 
The  total  in  1910  was  $4,818,607.  This  means  that  our  farms 
in  two  and  a  half  years  produced  more  wealth  than  our  farmers 
have  been  able  to  save  and  accumulate  in  the  last  140  years. 
We  know  how  to  make  the  wealth,  but  we  have  not  learned  how 
to  save  it.  It  is  a  hard  lesson,  but  we  must  learn  it  before  we 
shall  begin  to  keep  our  money  at  home. 

In  per  capita  bank  capital,  Wake  stood  sixth  in  1915.  Her 
average  of  $15  put  Wake  high  above  the  State  average  of  $8.50, 
but  below  the  U.  S.  average  of  $26.50.  We  have  some  of  the 
strongest  banks  in  the  State. 

In  1914  Wake  had  602  miles  of  improved  public  roads.  It 
was  a  full  half  of  our  total  public  road  mileage,  and  an  increase 
of  75  per  cent  in  four  years.  Only  ten  counties  at  that  time 
v/ere  building  improved  public  highways  more  rapidly.  But 
in  1916  we  had  over  800  miles  of  good  roads.  Good  roads  are 
a  vital  asset  to  any  community,  and  their  improvement  and  up- 
keep is  of  param.ount  importance. 


52  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

Low  Tax  Rate 

In  spite  of  the  great  amount  of  money  raised  by  taxes  in  the 
last  few  years  in  Wake  for  permanent  improvements,  her  com- 
bined State  and  county  rate  for  all  purposes  in  1913  was  less 
than  in  65  other  counties  in  the  State.  At  that  time  it  was  only 
89  2/3  cents  on  the  $100 ;  in  Yancey  County  it  was  $1.08  2/3. 
In  191G  it  was  only  $1.00  2/3,  and  39  other  counties  were  carry- 
ing heavier  State  and  county  burdens.  With  her  attention  fully 
focused  on  improvement  along  every  line,  Wake  has  made  great 
progress,  and  yet  she  has  kept  her  State  and  county  rate  for  all 
purposes  at  a  level  so  low  that  there  is  ample  room  for  a  hand- 
some increase  in  levies  for  school  purposes.  But  the  fact  that 
property  in  Ealeigh  is  assessed  at  about  66  2/3  per  cent  of  its 
actual  value  and  in  the  rural  districts  at  from  10  to  20  per  cent, 
has  led  to  a  condition  that  is  unfair  to  the  Raleigh  taxpayer,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  is  unfair  to  the  county  itself. 

Industrial  Plants 

The  rapid  building  and  improvement  of  roads  in  Wake  is  im- 
portant, because  Raleigh  is  the  center  of  a  district  that  has, 
within  one  hundred  miles,  a  population  of  1,791,908  inhabitants 
and  more  than  seventy-five  lively  towns.  Wake  has  also  118 
miscellaneous  plants;  six  cotton  mills  wdth  $1,116,000  of  capital. 
In  1916  these  cotton  mills  consumed  7,253,085  pounds  of  raw 
material  and  turned  out  finished  goods  worth  $1,512,154.  Our 
six  knitting  mills  had  a  combined  capital  of  $221,657.  With 
our  good  roads,  our  farmers  have  ready  access  to  a  good  market 
for  cotton,  tobacco,  food  crops  and  animal  products  of  every  kind. 
On  the  other  hand,  our  merchants  and  mills  easily  reach  their 
customers  in  the  surrounding  trade  territory.  Wake  is  on  the 
right  road  to  success,  but  with  a  long  way  yet  to  go. 

We  have,  also,  in  the  county  33  publications,  most  of  which 
are  leading  publications,  and  all  of  which  help  to  push  the  county 
forward  and  advertise  our  advantages  to  the  outside  world. 


^Yhere  Wake  Leads  53 

Agriculture 

The  farmers  of  any  community  form  the  backbone  of  that 
community,  a  fact  that  is  not  less  true  of  Wake  than  it  is  of  the 
State  as  a  whole  and  the  ISTation  at  large.  Upon  their  labor, 
their  prosperity,  good  cheer  and  high  courage  depend  to  a  large 
extent  the  prosperity  and  wealth  of  the  county. 

Wake  County,  with  a  variety  of  fine  soils  and  advantageous 
seasons  and  with  only  one-third  of  her  total  acreage  under  culti- 
vation, has  a  fine  record  in  the  total  and  the  per-acre  yield  of 
crop  wealth.  Her  per-acre  crop  yield  was  $21.34  in  the  last 
census  year,  while  that  of  the  United  States  was  only  $16.31. 
Only  18  other  counties  in  this  State  yielded  larger  per-acre  crop 
values.  Our  Boys'  Corn  Club  enrollment  in  1914  was  the 
largest  in  the  State.  At  that  time  there  were  352  boys  actively 
engaged  in  this  work,  and  Wake  led  the  State.  Two  years  later 
36  Corn  Club  boys  raised  the  average  yield  nine  bushels  per 
acre  and  lowered  the  cost  of  production  five  cents  a  bushel.  If 
the  farmers  of  the  county  would  only  equal  the  record  these  boys 
have  made  in  corn  production,  an  average  of  49.2  bushels  per 
acre,  they  could  supply  the  needs  of  the  county  and  have  more 
than  one  million  bushels  a  year  to  sell.  The  boys'  average  is 
four  times  that  of  the  farmers  of  the  county.  Nevertheless,  in 
1910,  we  were  fourth  in  total  corn  production,  with  a  yield  of 
686,991  bushels. 

The  girls  in  the  Canning  Clubs  of  Wake  also  make  an  ex- 
cellent showing  and  give  the  county  a  high  rank  in  the  produc- 
tion and  conservation  of  home-raised  food.  In  the  number  of 
girls  reporting  only  two  counties  made  a  better  showing  in  1915, 
and  in  the  money  value  of  their  products  the  county  ranked 
fourth.  When  135  girls  fill  42,269  containers  with  fruit  and 
vegetables,  worth  more  than  eight  thousand  dollars  and  clear 
profits  of  nearly  six  thousand,  the  value  of  such  work  in  Wake 
is  beyond  debate. 


54:  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

Between  1900  and  1010  we  increased  our  hay  and  forage 
production  by  48  per  cent.  In  this  respect  we  outranked  85 
counties  in  the  State.  It  is  a  great  forward  step  for  any  county 
to  take.  Abundant,  cheap  forage  means  more  livestock,  and  live- 
stock are  essential  to  farm  prosperity. 

Wake  ranked  second  in  the  annual  production  of  farm  wealth. 
In  1910  the  total  was  $4,818,607  worth  of  food  crops,  animal 
products,  cotton,  and  tobacco.  Not  only  was  Wake's  annual 
total  of  farm  w^ealth  large,  but  her  production  per  person  was 
$24.50  better  than  the  State  average.  In  this  respect  we  stood 
eighteenth  among  the  counties  of  the  State,  with  a  production  of 
$100.50  per  inhabitant. 

The  work  that  is  being  done  in  crop  production  and  animal 
husbandry  at  the  State  College  of  Agriculture  and  Engineering 
has  already  borne  fruit  in  the  increase  of  cattle  in  Wake.  Dur- 
ing the  last  census  period  our  cattle  increased  by  31  per  cent  in 
number,  and  our  poultry  33.3  per  cent.  Only  thirteen  counties 
of  the  State  made  a  greater  increase  in  cattle  and  only  tifteen  a 
greater  increase  in  poultry.  But  best  of  all,  our  breeds  of  cattle, 
pigs,  and  poultry  are  improving. 

In  1014  Wake  ranked  ninth  in  cotton  production,  with  a  total 
of  20,253  bales.  But  in  1017  her  cotton  crop  fell  to  but  20,274 
bales ;  which  means  that  Wake  is  producing  less  cotton  but  more 
food  and  feed  stuffs.  Here  is  a  change  of  the  greatest  signifi- 
cance in  the  development  of  a  safe  agriculture  in  Wake. 

Thus,  we  can  readily  see  that  all  the  conditions  of  farm  pros- 
perity are  present  in  AVake;  but,  owing  to  her  rapid  growth  in 
population,  her  production  of  food  and  feed  crops  has  not  kept 
pace  with  her  enlargement  along  other  lines.  Her  idle  acreage, 
two-thirds  of  the  county,  should  be  put  to  work. 

At  a  conservative  estimate,  the  350,000  acres  of  idle  land  in 
Wake  are  worth  seven  million  dollars;  and  they  represent  just 
that  much  dead  capital.     Xeither  the  owniers  of  this  land,  the 


Where  Wake  Leads  55 

agriculture  of  the  county,  nor  the  business  men  of  Raleigli  can 
afford  a  dead  investment  of  this  huge  sort.  . 

The  production  of  farm  wealth  in  Wake  is  based  on  a  tenancy 
system;  and  undoubtedly  the  farm  tenants  of  the  county  rank 
far  above  the  average  of  the  State  in  industry,  sobriety,  and 
trustworthiness. 

The  explanation?  It  lies  in  the  fact  that  our  good  country 
schools  attract  a  superior  class  of  tenants  into  the  county  and 
hold  them  there  longer  than  they  are  accustomed  to  settle  down 
elsewhere. 

In  brief,  our  investment  in  schools  has  been  the  best  invest- 
ment the  landowners  of  Wake  have  ever  made. 

Where  Wake  Leads 

The  figTires  on  the  left,  indicating  rank,  show  how  many  coun- 
ties make  a  better  showing. 

eth.  in  area ;  acres 540,800 

2d  in  population 63,229 

15th  in  density  of  rural  population;  people  to  square  mile  52.1 

25th  in  native  white  illiterates  ten  years  old  and  over; 

per  cent   9.8 

26th  in  native  white  illiterate  voters,  1,116;  per  cent. . . .  11.5 

18th  in  average  salary  paid  white  teachers,  1914 $292.00 

State  average,  |235.27;  169  rural  teachers;  98  had 
normal  training,  102  four  years  experience,  and 
55  college  diplomas. 
6th  in  average  salary  of  all  white  teachers  in  the  county, 

including  Raleigh   $429.54 

18th  in  marriage  rate  per  1,000  inhabitants,  fifteen  years 

old  and  over,  1914 12.8 

State  average,  10.1;  Pasquotank,  23.6;  marriages  in 
Wake,  807. 

38th  In  birth  rate,  per  1,000  inhabitants 32.6 

Average  for  U.  S.,  1913,  26.6;  N.  C,  31.2;  Clay,  54.4. 

4th  in  total  farm  wealth $11,982,984.00 

20th  in  increase  in  value  of  domestic  animals;  per  cent. .  132 

State  increase,  109  per  cent. 
3d  in  total  taxable  property,  1916 $31,648,704.00 


56  Walce  County:  Economic  and  Social 

35th  in  tax  rate,  State  and  county,  on  $100  in  1913 89% 

3d  in  income  taxes  paid,  1913 |4,769.02 

Thirty-three  counties  paid  no  income  taxes. 

2d  in  professional  taxes  paid $895.00 

11th  in  improved  roads  in  1913;  per  cent 34 

Number  of  miles,  343;  in  1914,  602  miles  or  50  per 
cent  of  the  total  road  mileage  (public) ;  in  1915, 
800  miles. 

2d  in  number  of  farms 6.137 

16th  in  poultry  increase,  1900-1910;  per  cent 33.3 

Rank  in  number  of  fowls  on  hand,  5th. 

14th  in  cattle  increase,  1900-1910;  per  cent 31 

9th  in  cotton  production;  total  crop,  1914,  bales 29,253 

12th  in  tobacco  production,  1910;  pounds 4.478,073 

2d  in  annual  farm  wealth  produced $4,818,607.00 

Every  two  and  a  half  years  the  farmers  produce 
more  wealth  than  they  have  been  able  to  save  and 
accumulate  in  140  years. 

19th  in  crop-yielding  power  per  acre ?21.34 

ISth  in  production  of  annual  farm  wealth  per  person. . . .  $109.50 

4th  in  corn  production;  total  crops,  bushels 686,991 

15th  in  hay  and  forage  production;  total  crops,  tons 6,060 

1st  in  Boys'  Corn  Club  enrollment  in  1914;  boys 314 

15th  in  Girls'  Canning  Club  enrollment;  number  of  girls  20 

(All  data  taken  from  the  1910  Census  unless  otherwise  mentioned.) 


Our  Problems  and  Their  Solution 

George  B.  Lat,  Raleigh 

The  many  reasons  that  we  have  to  be  proud  of  Wake  County 
have  been  pointed  out  in  the  last  chapter.  In  these  respects  she 
leads  or  ranks  with  the  topmost  counties  in  the  State.  There 
are,  however,  some  vital  defects  in  the  economic  and  social  life 
of  Wake.  They  must  be  remedied  if  the  county  is  to  move  into 
her  rightful  position  of  leadership  in  the  State. 

The  fact  that  we  are  near  the  bottom  of  the  list  in  many  par- 
ticulars of  economic  and  social  importance  will  doubtless  astound 
many  of  our  people.  If  this  were  not  the  case,  there  would  be 
no  need  of  this  little  book  and  the  suggestions  that  we  offer  with 
the  hope  of  aiding  our  home  county  in  her  upward  and  onward 
development.  We  do  not  lead  in  everything ;  in  fact,  we  are  at  the 
end  of  the  list  in  many  respects.  All  of  our  problems,  then,  are 
not  already  solved ;  nor  can  they  be  solved  without  the  coopera- 
tion of  our  business  men  and  bankers,  our  farmers,  teachers,  and 
religious  leaders.  It  will  take  the  federated  efforts  of  them  all 
to  remedy  our  deficiencies,  and  to  bring  every  detail  of  com- 
munity life  to  the  high  levels  we  have  reached  in  many  particu- 
lars. This  will  require  constant  work,  lively  interest,  and  cour- 
ageous support  from  all  our  people. 

The  most  important  facts  of  this  discussion  are  tabulated  at 
the  end  of  this  chapter.  If  Wake  ranks  ninetieth  in  one  detail, 
it  seems  that  89  other  counties  have  a  better  record. 

Our  Eueal  Population  and  Our  Idle  Lands 

The  fact  that  Wake  ranked  sixtieth  in  rural  population  in- 
crease in  the  last  census  period  shows  that  we  have  not  had  a 
healthy  growth,  during  recent  years,  in  the  rural  parts  of  the 
county.     This  is  to  be  explained,  in  part,  by  the  fact  that  we 


58  Wake  Count i/:  Economic  and  iSocial 

stand  fifteenth  in  density  of  rural  population,  but  only  in  part. 
For  Wake  is  second  in  total  population  in  the  whole  State.  ¥ot 
this  reason,  our  density  in  rural  population,  if  the  farmers  of 
the  county  ever  hope  to  support  the  Rowing  city  of  lialeigh, 
must  be  closer  to  our  standing  in  total  population.  Since  two- 
thirds  of  the  total  area  of  the  county  is  uncultivated,  we  have 
ample  room  for  4,000  more  farm  families,  which  means  an 
increase  of  20,000  in  rural  population.  A  fifty  per  cent  increase 
of  this  sort  would  immediately  increase  the  volume  of  farm 
wealth  produced,  and  this  w^ould  mean  more  business  for  mer- 
chants and  bankers ;  more  labor  to  draw'  upon  in  establishing 
new  industrial  enterprises ;  and  a  better  chance  for  the  country 
people  to  draw  closer  together  in  cooperative  effort  for  betrter 
farming,  better  schools  and  churches.  These  are  all  fundamen- 
tal concerns  in  economic  and  social  development.  What  better 
thing  could  the  farmers  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  do  to- 
gether than  to  attract  four  thousand  new  farm  families  into 
Wake  and  to  turn  into  active  capital  the  seven  million  dollars  of 
dead  capital  now  buried  in  idle  acres  ? 

Farm  Tenancy  and  the  Ckop-Lien  Evil 

Besides  the  fact  that  Wake  has  nearly  350,000  idle  acres,  we 
must  face  the  fact  that,  like  the  rest  of  the  South,  Wake  County 
is  sadly  crippled  by  farm  tenancy  and  the  crop-lien  evil.  These 
two  systems  reduce  54  per  cent  of  our  farmers  to  the  lowest 
possible  level  of  material  prosperity  and  make  impossible  the 
hope  and  high  courage  that  are  necessary  to  social  progress. 
And,  mind  you,  more  than  half,  or  1,700,  of  our  tenant  farmers 
are  whites.  They  are  our  own  kith,  kin,  and  kind.  They 
ought  to  live  on  the  highest  and  not  on  the  lowest  economic 
levels.  The  way  out  for  them  lies  in  cotton  and  tobacco  farm- 
ins,  based  on  live-at-home,  bread-and-meat  foundations.  But 
our  tenants  will  always  raise  more  cotton  and  tobacco  and  neg- 
lect food  and  feed  crops  until  they  are  allowed  or  required  by 


Our  Problems  mid  Their  Solution  59 

the  landlords,  the  supply  merchants,  and  the  bankers  of  the 
county  to  grow  their  own  supplies  at  home.     This  is  the  states- 
man-like policy  of  the  Texas  bankers.     They  are  refusing  to 
accept  as  collateral  crop  liens  protected  by  cotton  acreage  alone 
Acceptable  crop  liens  must  be  written  in  terms  of  cotton  and 
feed  crops,  under  what  they  call  the  half-and-half  system.    That 
is  to  say,  the  bankers  are  forcing  the  supply  merchants  to  force 
the  farmers  to  farm  on  a  live^at-home  basis.     The  plan  holds 
down  in  Texas,  this  year,  nearly  a  half  billion  dollars;  it  would 
hold  down  in  Wake  some  eight  million  dollars,  at  present  food 
prices.     Wake  has  long  enough  tried  to  grow  rich  by  purchasing 
farm  supplies  with  cotton  and  tobacco  money.     The  result  is  a 
per-capita  country  wealth  in  farm  properties  averaging  $210 
against  $322  in  the  State,  $944  in  the  United  States,  and  $3,386 

in  Iowa.  ^         -,    ,    r-     i 

And  Wake  must  solve  the  problem  of  local  markets  for  home- 
raised  food  and  feed  crops.     The  farmers  can  now  turn  then- 
cotton  and  tobacco  crops  into  instant  ready  cash ;  but  not  so  with 
their  corn,  wheat,  oats,  hay  and  forage,  their  pork,  beef  and 
mutton,  their  butter,  eggs  and  poultry.     They  will  not  bother 
with  these  as  long  as  they  must  peddle  them  from  door  to  door, 
or  stand  in  the  market  place  all  the  day  idle  as  at  present. 
The  changing  of  such  a  system  is  a  matter  that  needs  the  co- 
operation of  the  business  men  of  the  county,  the  public  officials, 
and  the  farmers.     The  rent  and  the  crop-lien  contracts  must 
include  a  stipulation  to  the  effect  that  the  tenant  must  devote  a 
certain  definite  acreage  year  by  year  to  food  and  feed  crops- 
enough  to  supply  himself,  his  family,  and  his  farm  animals  dur- 
ing the  growing  and  marketing  seasons. 

How  serious  the  condition  in  Wake  County  is  can  be  readily 
understood  from  the  fact  that  54  per  cent  of  our  farms  are  cul- 
tivated by  tenants,  more  than  half  of  them  being  white  and  also 
more  than  half  croppers.  Ownership,  not  tenancy,  should  be 
the  condition  of  our  farmers.     Hand  in  hand  with  ownership 


60  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

goes  the  stimulus  of  initiative,  for  a  farm  owner  will  take  a 
more  lively  interest  in  his  farm  than  the  tenant  who  cares  to 
produce  little  besides  cotton  and  tobacco.  What  is  worse,  tenants 
move  about  from  place  to  place,  are  little  identilied  with  any 
one  community,  and  in  the  nature  of  things  feel  a  minimum 
responsibility  for  local  law  and  order.  This  economic  and  social 
evil  grows  on  us  apace.  It  is  dying  out  little  by  little  in  47 
counties  of  the  State,  but  steadily  increases  in  Wake.  We  need 
more  home-owning  farmers  and  fewer  tenants. 

In  the  matter  of  farm  mortgages,  also,  W^ake  is  considerably 
behind.  The  white  farmers  in  55  counties  and  the  negro  farm- 
ers in  29  counties  make  a  better  showing  than  they  do  in  Wake. 
This  condition,  which  is  again  typical  of  the  South  in  general, 
is  the  penalty  that  the  owners  of  farm  lands  pay  for  the  pre- 
vailing cash-crop,  crop-lien  system  in  Wake.  It  is  a  drawback 
to  our  economic  development,  and  it  must  decrease. 

OuK  Ill-Balaxced  Farm  System 

Any  system  of  farming  is  ill-balanced  that  does  not  produce 
(1)  cash  crops  in  reasonable  amounts,  (2)  food  crops  enough  to 
feed  the  farm  family  and  the  farm  animals,  and  (3)  that  does 
not  have  farm  animals  enough  to  consume  the  waste  and  to  yield 
a  steady  income  through  the  year.  The  fact  that  Wake  in  1910 
sent  out  of  the  community  $4,000,000  to  import  the  food  and 
feed  products  that  we  failed  to  raise  at  home  is  enough  to  show 
that  our  farm  system  is  ill-balanced  and  unsafe.  Our  farm- 
tenancy,  crop-lien  systems  form  the  basis  of  this  intolerable  situ- 
ation. It  explains  why  we  are  forty-ninth  in  per-capita  rural 
wealth  in  the  State,  which  is  an  exceedingly  bad  record  consid- 
ering the  natural  resources  of  our  county,  our  fine  soils,  our  good 
seasons,  our  high  average  crop  values  per  acre,  our  good  high- 
ways, and  our  excellent  railway  facilities.  Our  vacant  lands 
have  hindered  the  bettering  of  this  condition,  but,  on  the  whole, 
the  main  trouble  is,  as  I  have  also  pointed  out,  the  fact  that  we 


Our  Problems  and  Their  Solution  61 

pay  too  mucli  attention  to  cotton  and  tobacco  and  too  little  to 
food  crops,  livestock  and  livestock  products.  The  wealth  of  a 
community  depends  on  a  well-balanced  farm  system,  and  this  is 
just  as  true  of  the  merchants  and  the  bankers  as  for  the  farmers 
themselves. 

Only  one-third  of  our  total  crop  values  are  produced  by  food 
crops,  a  condition  that  gives  us  a  low  rank  in  this  particular. 
While  we  rank  in  cotton  and  tobacco  production  among  the  very 
best  counties  in  the  State,  we  nearly  foot  the  list  in  the  per- 
capita  production  of  food  and  feed.  In  two  and  one-half  years 
the  farmers  of  Wake  produce  more  wealth  than  they  have  been 
able  to  accumlate  in  140  years,  due  largely  to  our  ill-balanced 
farm  system.  Sixty-seven  per  cent  of  our  yearly  crop  values 
are  produced  by  cotton  and  tobacco  alone ;  and  less  than  a  third 
of  our  annual  crop  wealth  is  produced  by  food  and  feed  crops. 
In  the  census  year  we  needed  $84  worth  of  food  per  inhabitant, 
we  raised  only  $31  worth,  which  left  a  deficit  of  $53  a  person, 
counting  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  county.  The  total 
bill  for  imported  supplies  was  some  four  million  dollars.  These 
figures  mean  that  our  county  needs  to  be  headed  in  another  direc- 
tion. We  must  raise  more  food.  If  we  could  make  Wake 
County  self-supporting  during  this  war,  we  would  be  doing  a 
very  great  deal  more  than  our  "bit"  to  win  the  war.  We  would 
release  for  use  in  Europe  large  quantities  of  food  that  we  have 
been  importing  yearly.  We  would  hold  down  at  home  the 
King's  ransom  that  we  have  been  sending  outside  the  State  for 
imported  food  supplies.  We  would,  in  this  way,  reduce  the 
cost  of  living  in  the  county  and  in  Raleigh.  According  to  Gov- 
ernment figures,  Ealeigh  is  one  of  the  six  most  expensive  cities 
to  live  in  in  the  whole  United  States.  And  yet,  Raleigh  is  the 
center  of  a  farm  area  that  in  possibilities  and  advantages  is  the 
very  best  in  the  State.  We  have  the  prerequisites  for  an  enor- 
mous development  in  our  agriculture  and  for  undreamed  of 
wealth  in  Raleigh,  but  we  have  not  yet  made  the  best  of  our 


62  Wahe  County:  Economic  and  Social 

opportunities.  Raleigh  needs  to  be  the  center  of  a  well  devel- 
oped food-producing  region,  and  she  must  get  busy  with  plans 
to  promote  prosperity,  high  courage,  and  good  cheer  among  the 
farmers  in  her  trade  territory. 

Besides  the  lack  of  food  crops,  we  are  also  backward  in  live- 
stock and  the  production  of  animal  products.  In  1010  our  farm 
animals  of  all  sorts  were  only  22  per  cent  of  the  number  required 
in  even  a  lightly  stocked  farm  area.  We  were  78  per  cent  de- 
ficient in  the  number  of  livestock  on  hand,  and  64  counties  made 
a  better  showing. 

Since  1860  (see  last  page  at  end  of  article  on  Farm  Condi- 
tions, Farm  Practices,  and  the  Local  Market  Problem)  our  cat- 
tle have  decreased  67  per  cent  in  number,  our  hogs  87  per  cent, 
and  our  sheep  05  per  cent.  Such  decreases  are  almost  unbe- 
lievable. It  seems  reasonable  to  suppose  that  these  industries 
would  naturally  keep  pace  with  the  increase  in  population ;  but 
such  has  not  been  the  case  in  Wake,  according  to  the  data  of  the 
Federal  census  reports.  Up  to  1010  we  raised  more  and  more 
cotton  and  tobacco  and  less  and  less  feed  and  food.  However, 
we  increased  the  number  of  cattle  31  per  cent  between  1900 
and  1010;  but  such  increases  must  continue  for  a  long  time  in 
order  to  produce  meat  and  dairy  products  enough  for  home  con- 
sumption and  surpluses  to  market.  In  the  census  year  we  im- 
ported over  four  and  a  quarter  million  pounds  of  meat,  two  and 
a  half  million  pounds  of  butter,  nearly  two  million  fowls,  and 
three-quarter  million  dozens  of  eggs.  This  condition  should 
not  exist.  We  must  not  let  it  exist,  as  it  drains  our  ready-cash 
strength,  boosts  the  price  of  living,  and  stunts  the  growth  of 
industries. 

Co-oPERATiox,  Livestock:  Two  Solutioxs 

Considering  the  fact  that  we  import  such  enormous  amounts 
of  breadstuffs  and  animal  foods,  we  must  act,  and  act  immedi- 
ately, if  we  wish  to  redeem  our  standing  and  increase  in  wealth 
and  prosperity.     We  can  do  this  if  we  will  only  develop  the 


Our  Problems  mid  Their  Solution  63 

sj)irit  and  the  practice  of  cooperation.  ISTot  only  must  the  farm- 
ers cooperate  with  one  another,  but  with  the  bankers,  the  mer- 
chants, and  the  consumers.  On  the  other  hand,  the  bankers, 
merchants,  and  consumers  must  go  more  than  half  way  to  meet 
the  farmers  in  the  way  of  fair-mindedness. 

A  sound  system  of  lending  money  and  of  buying  lands  on  the 
installment  plan  (the  small  farmer  can  buy  on  no  other)  must 
include  a  proviso  forcing  the  tenant  or  the  buyer  to  raise  all  the 
bread  and  meat  needed  for  home  supply.  The  banks  can  stimu- 
late local  interest  in  livestock  farming  by  importing  and  selling 
superior  breeds  of  farm  animals  on  easy  terms,  or  in  backing 
the  county  demonstration  agent  in  such  enterprises.  The  Com- 
mercial ISTational  Bank  of  Raleigh,  cooperating  with  the  Exten- 
sion Bureau  of  the  State  Department  of  Agriculture,  is  already 
interested  and  active  in  this  direction.  When  their  new  build- 
ing was  built,  they  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  farmers  a  room, 
off  their  lobby,  the  first  of  the  kind  in  the  whole  South.  Some 
time  ago  this  bank  exhibited  a  fine  Jersey  cow  in  its  lobby,  and 
offered  to  lend  money  on  easy  terms  to  the  farmers  wanting  to 
buy  better  dairy  animals.  Three  carloads  of  these  fine  cows  have 
already  been  ordered  through  their  initial  efforts.  The  Com- 
mercial National  Bank  has  also  exhibited  pigs,  poultry,  and 
sheep  within  their  lobby,  and  intends  to  give  an  exhibit  of  this 
nature  monthly.     Other  banks  are  also  doing  valuable  work. 

With  cooperation  of  this  direct  sort  on  part  of  the  bankers 
and  merchants,  we  may  expect  a  great  increase  in  our  food  and 
feed  products  in  the  near  future. 

Adequate  Market  Facilities  :  Their  Meaning 

The  greatest  hindrance,  however,  to  the  farmer  in  the  produc- 
tion of  abudant  foodstuffs  is  the  fact  that  Raleigh  has  no  ade- 
quate marketing  facilities.  His  cotton  and  tobacco  are  easily 
marketed,  but  not  his  food  products.  "He  must  peddle  his 
fruits,  nuts,  and  vegetables,  butter  and  eggs,  meat  and  poultry, 


64  Wake  County:  Economic  and  Social 

from  door  to  door,  or  stand  in  the  market  place  all  the  day  wait- 
ing. It  is  bothersome,  wasteful  of  time,  embarrassing,  and  un- 
remunerative.  The  producers  and  consumers  of  food  products 
are  as  fur  apart  as  if  they  lived  on  different  planets.  The  farm- 
ers are  shy  of  cultivating  housewives  at  back  doors ;  and  house- 
wives are  too  close  to  telephones  to  visit  a  market  place,  a  Sab- 
bath day's  journey  distant;  lialeigh  is  not  yet  provided  with 
grain  and  hay  warehouses,  cold  storage  plants  for  perishable 
products,  or  credit  accommodation  upon  stored  food  products; 
with  ample  market  spaces  for  free,  open-air  trading;  with  con- 
venient camping  sheds,  hitching  grounds,  and  feeding  stalls ; 
with  rest-rooms  for  the  country  people  provided  with  lavatory 
and  toilet  facilities,  chairs  and  lounges,  books,  newspapers,  and 
magazines  to  make  the  country  people  feel  the  warmth  of  city 
hospitality.  Ealeigh  is  not  ready  to  handle  the  big  four-million- 
dollar  trade  in  home-raised  foodstuffs."* 

Without  adequate  market  facilities  we  cannot  expect  the 
farmer  to  balance  up  his  farm  system  with  food  crops  and  farm 
animals.  The  cooperation  of  the  grocers,  quick  and  fair  market 
facilities,  and  a  more  clean-cut  attitude  on  the  part  of  all  con- 
cerned will  produce  the  results  desired.  If  any  one  of  these 
classes  is  continually  trying  to  overreach  the  other  instead  of 
w^orking  with  him  for  mutual  advantage,  the  results  will  be  dis- 
astrous. They  must  all  be  patriotic  enough  to  realize  that  only 
by  strict  cooperation  can  Raleigh  hold  down  at  home  some  four 
million  dollars  in  ready  cash  year  by  year,  increase  the  pros- 
perity of  the  farmers,  and  at  the  same  time  lower  the  cost  of 
living  in  Raleigh. 

The  very  largest  asset  of  Wake  County  of  late  years  is  a  group 
of  alert,  enterprising  men  in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the 
Rotary  Club,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  other  civic  organizations. 
Together  they  can  successfully  attack  and  solve  the  economic  and 
social  problems  of  Wake.  Prosperity  of  a  greater  sort  is  easily 
ahead  of  us,  and  they  can  lead  us  into  it. 


*The  Local  Market  Problem  in  Wake:   by   the  Wake  County  Club. — Raleigh   Times. 


Our  Prohlems  and  Tlieir  Solution  65 

High  Death  Rate 

The  Health  Survey  of  Raleigh,  which  has  just  been  published, 
gives  the  death  rate  for  the  fiscal  year,  in  Raleigh,  as  27.8  per 
thousand,  a  condition  that  is  intolerable.  The  rate  in  the  county 
in  1914  was  17  per  thousand.  Raleigh's  death  rate  affects  that 
of  the  county,  and  the  struggle  now  proceeding  to  eliminate  abso- 
lutely from  Raleigh  the  1,500  open  privies  will  materially  reduce 
the  death  rate  in  Raleigh,  and,  therefore,  in  Wake.  Dysentery 
and  typhoid  diseases  go  hand  in  hand  with  such  conditions  as 
now  exist  in  Raleigh.  We  should  not  stop  fighting  this  evident 
evil  until  these  conditions  are  absolutely  cleared  up.  Our  State 
institutions,  of  course,  increase  our  death  rate,  but  in  all  large 
cities  the  same  condition  exists,  and  does  not  excuse  the  high 
death  rate  in  Wake. 

Better  Schools,  the  Watchword 

The  more  civilized  the  community,  the  better  the  schools,  the 
higher  the  salaries  of  the  teachers,  and  the  greater  the  attend- 
ance and  advancement  of  the  pupils.  In  these  matters  Wake 
County  has  done  some  wonderful  work,  but  a  word  of  reminder 
here  is  not  out  of  place.  We  must  never  for  an  instant  stop 
our  efforts  at  progress.  We  must  make  this  necessary  agency  of 
social  life,  on  which  the  progress  of  the  whole  county  depends, 
the  best  possible.  We  are  on  the  highway  towards  this  goal,  but 
strenuous  efforts  are  still  needed  to  place  us  on  a  par  with  the. 
best  educational  standards  that  exist  in  this  country. 

Church  Membership 

In  1906,  the  date  of  the  last  published  Census  of  Religious 
Bodies,  46  per  cent  of  the  people  of  Wake,  10  years  old  and 
over,  were  on  the  rolls  of  the  various  churches.  In  ratio  of 
church  membership,  only  37  counties  made  a  better  showing. 
Where  less  than  half  of  the  people  of  responsible  ages  are  in  the 
5 


66  WaJce  County:  Economic  and  Social 

church,  there  is  manifest  room  for  vital  activity  on  the  part  of 
church  organizations.  The  large  per  cent  of  non-church  mem- 
bership, 54  per  cent,  is  directly  related  to  our  large  ratios  of 
tenancy,  town  and  country,  to  rural  illiteracy  and  near  illiteracy. 
These  correspondences  are  not  only  coincidental,  but  causal  in 
Wake  and  everywhere  else  in  North  Carolina.  Tenancy,  both 
in  Raleigh  and  in  our  country  regions,  and  illiteracy  and  near- 
illiteracy  are  fundamental  social  menaces  to  the  church ;  and 
our  church  authorities  need  to  get  busy  with  these  social  ills. 

Co-OrEEATIOX 

After  a  survey  of  such  facts  as  these,  we  are  brought  to  the 
inevitable  conclusion  that  the  solution  of  all  these  problems  de- 
pends upon  cooperation  between  the  farmers  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  lawyers,  merchants,  bankers,  teachers  and  preachers  of 
the  cities  and  towns  on  the  other.  The  country  supplies  our 
food  and  many  of  our  most  prominent  men  of  affairs ;  the  city  in 
return  must  supply  market  and  credit  facilities.  The  cities  can- 
not grow  without  a  healthy  countryside  to  back  them ;  likewise, 
the  rural  communities  need  the  active  backing  of  a  live  and 
prosperous  town  or  city.  With  better  cooperation,  we  shall  be 
able  to  "get  together"  on  these  problems  and  place  Wake  County 
high  in  the  list  of  the  most  progressive  counties  of  the  State  and 
the  Nation. 

OUR  PROBLEMS  AND  THEIR  SOLUTION 

(Data  based  on  1910  Census  of  Department  of  Agriculture) 

60th  in  rural  population  increase  during  the  census  period; 

per  cent 7-4 

38th  in  church  membership  in  1906;  per  cent 46 

State  average,  40. 
69th  in  negro  farm  owners;  per  cent  of  all  negro  farmers. .  27 

53d  in  swine  decrease,  1900-1910;  per  cent 11 

69  counties  decreased;  only  29  increased. 
67th  in  sheep  losses,  1900-1910;  per  cent 62 


Our  Problems  and  Their  Solution  67 

73d  in  farm  tenancy;  per  cent 54.3 

Ten-year  increase  of  1.1  per  cent  in  Wake;  47  coun- 
ties decreased. 
86th  in  non-food  crops  produced — cotton,  tobacco,  etc. — value  $2,832,626.00 
Cotton  and  tobacco  produce  annually  67  per  cent  of 
the  total  crop  wealth. 

85th  in  food  and  feed  production;  per  person $31.00 

Needed,  $84  per  person;  deficit,  $53  per  person.    Total 
deficit,  $3,987,000  in  1910. 

86th  in  food  and  feed  crops;  per  cent  of  total  crop  values. .  31 

86th  in  corn  produced  per  person;  bushels 11 

54th  in  wheat  production  per  person;  bushels .4 

72d  in  beef  production  per  person;  pounds 16 

97th  in  egg  deficit;  total  dozen 672,700 

86th  in  ten-year  increase  of  farm  sales  of  dairy  products; 

per  cent   24 

97th  in  bill  for  imported  foods  and  feed  supplies;  in  1910. .  $3,987,000.00 

85th  in  pork  production;   per  person,  pounds 52 

72d  in  poultry  production;  per  person,  fowls 5 

65th  in  live  stock  on  hand;  per  cent  of  a  lightly  stocked  area  22 


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